An Abbeville Police car flipped during a chase that ended with the arrest of a local man on numerous charges and active warrants.
Journal Kelly, 19, was booked with Aggravated Flight from an Officer; Possession of a Stolen Firearm; Possession of a Firearm in the Presence of a C.D.S.; Possession of Schedule II Drugs; Possession with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine; Resisting an Officer; Theft of a Motor Vehicle; Simple Burglary; Negligent Injury; Monetary Instrument Abuse (122 Counts).
The chase began after midnight Friday morning, when patrol officers tried to pull over a car that allegedly had committed traffic violations, police say.
The vehicle did not stop, and officers chased the car through a residential neighborhood until it struck a police car after running a four-way stop sign. The police unit slid off the road and into a ditch and rolled over. The officer sustained minor injuries, police say.
The car spun around and came to rest in the same yard that the police car landed in, and the driver got out and allegedly tried to run away. He was caught by officers and arrested.
When officers searched him, police say they found cocaine, one hydrocodone pill and 122 suspected counterfeit $20 bills. When they searched his car, police say they found a 7.62 caliber rifle. The rifle was run through N.C.I.C. and it was found to be confirmed as stolen out of Lafayette.
Kelly was treated and released from a local hospital and booked into the parish jail.
While he was still at the hospital, officers received a phone call from the owner of the car he was driving; the owner told police that he went into her home without permission, took her car keys and took the car without her permission.
Kelly had active warrants on charges of Illegal Use of Weapons, Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property and Possession of a Firearm in a Firearm Free Zone. He was booked on these warrants and on several traffic violations.
