| Shots fired in high-speed chase |
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| Thursday, 29 January 2009 19:36 | |
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BLUFF, Okla. - Two Georgia residents were taken into custody by officers of the Choctaw County Sheriff's office after a high speed chase Monday evening ended at the scales on state highway 271 south of Grant. Booked into the Choctaw County jail on multiple felony counts were Damein Allen Vincent Wells, 21 and Ella Rebecca Louise Wells, 18. The two were reportedly first cousins. Bluff area resident Robert Shumake notified authorities he returned home to find a burglary in process at his residence. Shumake reportedly followed the blue Dodge Caravan with two persons inside to another location where he observed another burglary in progress. According to Choctaw County Deputy Sheriff Larry Hendrix, Shumake reported that one of the individuals in the van fired a shot at him as they were leaving the second burglary location. Shumake followed the van west on SH 109 until it turned north up a dead-end county road. Shortly after the van turned north off of SH 109, Officer Hendrix arrived at that intersection where Shumake advised him as to what had occurred and told him, "They shot at me. Be careful." Hendrix said the van turned around and came back toward them and turned to the east at which time the pursuit began. Having radioed for additional police assistance, as officer Hendrix pursued the vehicle eastbound on SH 109, they passed officer Bill Booker, who was westbound on SH 109. After officer Booker reversed course, he was joined by Hugo Chief of Police Jon Bozeman, who had been requested to block a road south of Soper in case the vehicle fled in that direction. As Officer Hendrix pursued the vehicle in his department pickup, Sheriff Lewis Collins had begun a roadblock at SH 109 and SH 271. Collins was soon joined there by Deputy Earl Maxwell who assisted in forming a larger roadblock. Officers were advised that the subjects in the van were armed and dangerous and had reportedly fired at Shumake. As the vehicle approached the roadblock, Collins said it was obvious they were not going to stop and they swerved to the south into the ditch at which time he fired a shot with his service pistol at the vehicle's left rear tire. The vehicle spun through the mud and departed to the south on SH 271 with five police vehicles in pursuit. According to Hendrix, Sheriff Collins was the first vehicle behind the fleeing car, and the first to arrive at the scale house, where the vehicle exited the highway at a high rate of speed and turned south into the ditch past the scale house. Hendrix arrived shortly behind Collins, and observed two individuals running southward near the right-of-way fence. "I yelled at them, 'let me see your hands'," Officer Hendrix said. He said that the two at first had their backs to the officers and then began to turn around. "The female instantly complied, but the male was a little slower, Hendrix said. After they turned around, Hendrix said he and Sheriff Collins put them face down and cuffed them. Hendrix said both subjects dropped pistols to their side as the officers caught up with them. Hendrix said the vehicle the two were in had a flat on the left rear tire, presumed to have been caused by the Sheriff's shot, but was still traveling at very high speeds, approaching 100 miles per hour during the pursuit. He said the vehicle sustained additional damage as it went over a curb and nosed over in the ditch by the scale house. The vehicle was reported stolen from Macon County, Georgia on Friday. According to Hendrix, the male was a previously convicted sex offender out of Georgia and the woman had no prior criminal record. Hendrix said the two were refusing interviews by officers until they had obtained legal counsel. Hendrix also said that both guns in the possession of the pair were also reported stolen out of Georgia. Hendrix said officers would continue to follow up on numerous elements of the investigation over the next several days. ![]()
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