An Atlanta man was taken into custody on Oct. 18 on multiple charges relating to his Sept. 4 attempts to flee law enforcement in Peachtree City and Tyrone before crashing his vehicle in Fairburn.
Darius L. Reid, 29, was charged by Tyrone police with crossing median – divided highway, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, no drivers license, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, fleeing or attempting to elude, convicted felon in possession of a weapon and two counts of theft by receiving stolen property, according to Fayette County Jail records.
Reid was also charged by Peachtree City police with stop sign violation, failure to yield from driveway, driving without a valid license, license plate used to conceal identification, reckless driving and fleeing and attempting to elude, according to Fayette County Jail records.
The Sept. 4 incident began in Peachtree City when a tag reader camera hit on a vehicle with a stolen tag, said Peachtree City Police Department spokesman Chris Hyatt.
Hyatt said the vehicle was located in a parking lot near Commerce Drive. The officer attempted contact, but Reid pulled out and headed north on Ga. Highway 74, with Tyrone officers subsequently locating him.
Tyrone Police Department spokesman Philip Nelson said an officer located Reid near the Jenkins Road intersection and activated his lights. Reid sped up with the officer in pursuit.
Reid continued north, passing vehicles and nearly causing an accident. The officer lost sight of the vehicle in the area of Milam Road, after it had reached speeds of 115 miles per hour, said Nelson.
Nelson said the officer saw a cloud of smoke in the distance and continued on Hwy. 74 to Oakley Industrial Boulevard, where he found that Reid’s vehicle had flipped on its side, having struck three vehicles.
Reid was spotted sitting on the ground along the highway and was taken into custody by Fulton County officers due to an active warrant having been previously issued there for his arrest.
Officers found a handgun on the ground near the vehicle that had been stolen from Washington County and a second handgun in the vehicle, along with two small bags of suspected marijuana, Nelson said, adding that the vehicle’s tag had been stolen from DeKalb County.
Tyrone officers picked up Reid from Fulton County on Oct. 18 and transported him to the Fayette County Jail.
Another stay at hotel-do-right is in his future.
This is a text book case for Henry to review and let us know how better to have handled the situation.
It has all the classic elements needed for how he would have a “Citizen Monitor”, evaluate, report and communicate the actions of Mr. Reid to the police…then determine if the State police (the only ones allowed to have guns) should then track and apprehend Mr. Reid (who had a gun).
Truthfully , I’m beginning to accept that Henry really believes in his methods and I think it would educate us all if he picked up my request for how he would have resolved the situation with Mr. Reid.
There’s not much the cops could have done differently. I probably would have approached the situation the same way. I like that the cop didn’t try to chase at 115 mph, high speed chases are needlessly dangerous as we can see from the result here. Adding a second car going that fast just increases the chances of someone dying. How is Mr. Reid having a gun relevant to this situation? He never brandished it or shot at the cops. I won’t defend the actions of Mr. Reid, but at the same time I think it’s important to remember that you are innocent until proven guilty in front of a jury of your peers.
Sidenote:
I think it’s insane that cars can go 115 mph, there isn’t a road in America with a speed limit that high. Cars should be limited to 90 mph max because 80 mph speed limits aren’t unheard of out west. Potentially lower speed limits in cities using GPS, but there are many things that can go wrong with that. Driving through a city on the interstate when your car decides it’s in a city and forces you to slow down to 35 in traffic going 60, is just one way that could fail. A simple mechanical limiter has much fewer failure modes.
Well Henry, I really do appreciate your full review of the encounter.
It informs me of your thought processes.
Side bar: the gun is relevant…illegal possession is a crime and why you don’t want bad boys playing with them.
When it comes to how the police acted the gun is irrelevant because the police didn’t know the gun was there.
Henry, your a real interesting fella…how about looking up LEO TERRELL, a powerful civil rights attorney who has a vital message to all people of color and in any minority group…including short old white guys like me….I challenge you, Henry, to look him up…go to You Tube, his radio program…even previous FOX news and CNN appearances….go back about 2 years and see how he has changed his position on America….you have a mind ….now is the time to learn truth and become a strong individual.
Good job PTC officers – and tag reader camera and those that authorized and purchased it. Thank you.
We can use more of those cameras to keep track of people like this who are driving into our city. I’d rather just keep them (meaning thieves and people without licenses for themselves or their vehicle) out of here – but if they must come in, better that we know they are here.
Guns, drugs, stolen stuff, false id, 115 mph – all delivered to our doorstep by a 29-year old loser. Stay away dude. We don’t need you here.
Note to other losers – or at least the ones who can read – stay away from PTC. You will be on camera the whole time you are here. then you can join Darius at the big house for a few years. I think Darius will be 37 or 38 when he gets out and with limited job skills.
Just make sure you nab him on that stop sign violation!
Yo’ Marko727…at least he will get a pass on the “possession of less than an ounce of marijuana”, I agree with Robert W. Morgan that Mr. Reid will be a mature gentleman when he re-enters society sometime around 2040.
Let’s hope his kind understand how seriously we are watching out for their kind everyday ….and in Fayette Co. the judges don’t play games….bye bye Mr. Reid.
I think rehabilitation is more important than punishment. What will Mr. Reid do when he gets out of prison in 2040? No job will hire him due to his criminal record and a 20 year gap in employment. This will likely result in him turning to crime once again. If we have less harsh minimum punishments and help them improve themselves so that when they are released they can be productive members of society and businesses can feel comfortable hiring them.
Let’s hope he does get help.
How do you see dealing with him?
If he has any addiction or mental health problems, help him get a handle on those first. Then, start working to reintegrate him into society. Instead of sitting in prison all day everyday, start a job program where prisoners can work for minimum wage. Over time increase the independence of the a prisoner, when they start out keep them under close supervision. Slowly reducing how much supervision they have, until they can be trusted without any. Potentially do something similar to probation for a day to let them visit family or something, then smoothly transition to a probation period. This is a rough idea, basically instead of locking people up for a number of years then dumping them on the curb to fend for themselves. Have a gradual process of reintegration to so that they are less likely to return to crime when released. There are a lot of people smarter than me thinking about how to reform the prison system, but this is the general idea they all are working with.