A Bernice man and a Quitman woman were arrested in Ruston Tuesday night after a high speed chase of the stolen vehicle they were travelling in.
Jeremiah Knighton, 26, of Bernice, and Anajha Evans, 19, of Quitman, were arrested at about 9:30 p.m. on December 9 after a Lincoln Parish deputy spotted a stolen vehicle at a convenience store on West California Avenue in Ruston.
The deputy was surveilling the car, a Mercedes, awaiting back up when it began to move. The driver exited the Mercedes at the gas pumps and the deputy approached and directed him to step to the rear of the vehicle. The deputy detected the strong order of burnt marijuana coming from the Mercedes.
The driver fled on foot and a Taser was deployed but had no effect on the suspect who continued running. The deputy turned his attention to the vehicle. A passenger, later identified as Jeremiah Knighton, attempted to enter the driver’s seat. He was ordered to stop but rapidly accelerated, leaving the convenience store headed south on Bond Street.
The Mercedes turned south on Arlington Street, committing numerous traffic violations, including speeding at approximately 90 miles per hour in a residential area.
The Mercedes navigated a curve onto Mayberry Street but left the roadway and crashed into a tree. Knighton resisted efforts to take him into custody. An ambulance was called to treat two women and a juvenile, who were also in the vehicle.
Evans was identified as the mother of the 2-year-old juvenile. She said she had just purchased 3.5 grams of marijuana from Knighton and the man who fled the scene. She said she got a ride from them to the store to buy cigars. She stated she was in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle, and her son was unrestrained in the center of the back seat. She said she attempted to get Knighton to stop fleeing the deputy and let her out of the vehicle.
The deputy found that the license plate displayed on the Mercedes was registered to a white Nissan. The Mercedes was determined to have been stolen in Lafayette, and the license plate had been stolen in Shreveport.
A search of the Mercedes located bags of suspected marijuana in the driver’s side floorboard and in the passenger door, as well as digital scales and packaging material for narcotics.
All the occupants of the vehicle were taken to Northern Louisiana Medical Center for treatment. Knighton was asked if he had any contraband on him. He was later caught attempting to discard a bag of marijuana into the trash. Knighton said the 28-gram bag of marijuana was causing his groin to itch and surrendered it to deputies, stating he did not want to catch additional charges for bringing the drug into the detention center.
After treatment, the juvenile was released to a family member, and Evans and Knighton were booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
Knighton was booked for no driver’s license, aggravated flight from an officer, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of a controlled substance in the presence of a juvenile, illegal possession of stolen things, and obstruction of justice. Evans was booked for improper supervision of a juvenile and possession of a controlled substance in the presence of a juvenile.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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