MORGANTOWN — An early morning police chase ended with the fleeing suspect in a cemetery.
Tyrone T. Jackson, 34, of Clarksburg, is charged with four counts of possession with intent to distribute and fleeing in a vehicle with reckless indifference to the safety of others.
Each count of possession with intent is punishable by one to five years in prison and/or a fine up to $15,000. Fleeing with reckless indifference is a felony with a sentence of one to five years in prison and a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $2,000.
According to a Morgantown Police press release and criminal complaints:
Just before 3 a.m. Thursday morning, two officers saw a white Chevrolet Impala run a red light at the intersection of High and Walnut streets and began following the vehicle. The driver of the Impala ignored a stop sign turning onto Fayette Street from Chestnut Street and ran a red light on Fayette turning onto High Street where the driver then accelerated to over 80 mph.
The tailing officers used the patrol cars’ emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to stop the vehicle. They then stopped trying to pull the vehicle over as they crossed the bridge on High Street, turning off the lights and sirens.
At the intersection of South High Street and Dorsey Avenue, police saw the vehicle crashed through the guardrail and into Oak Grove Cemetery, damaging at least one headstone.
After a short foot pursuit, Jackson was arrested without incident on Callen Avenue, which is on the far side of the cemetery where he crashed.
Twenty-four Oxycodone pills, 7.1 grams of heroin, 57.8 grams of marijuana were found on Jackson, and a substance thought to be cocaine was found on the driver’s seat of the crashed vehicle.
The investigation is ongoing.
