Driver fleeing police crashes near creek at Old Mill, walks away into jail cell

A speeder led local police on a high-speed chase and wrecked his car before miraculously walking away, although he walked right into a jail cell.

Officers attempted a June 29 traffic stop for speeding but the suspect refused to cooperate, according to Fayetteville Police Department spokesman. He fled west on Hwy. 54 toward Peachtree City, reaching speeds of well over 100 miles per hour.

He was near Frank’s at the Old Mill when he lost control and ran off the road. The vehicle settled near the creek, and the suspect got out of the vehicle and attempted to hide. He was found by police relatively quickly, the police report indicated.

No one was hurt in the incident, which was amazing given the situation, according to the police spokesman. “The way he left the roadway, he was lucky he didn’t get hurt of killed,” he said.

Evans Gadegbeku, 19, of Ellenwood was charged with a felony count of fleeing/eluding law enforcement along with no less than seven traffic violations, including two counts of reckless driving.

Two other unrelated incidents the same day in Fayette County involved motorists trying unsuccessfully to escape law enforcement.

Deputies on patrol June 29 just before noon spotted a vehicle on North Jeff Davis that was reported stolen out of Stockbridge. The suspect was identified at the ensuing traffic stop but then fled in the vehicle, leading to a short pursuit. He was stopped and taken into custody.

A search of the vehicle revealed that the suspect had a backpack filled with multiple financial transaction cards, driver’s licenses and identification from various people as well as pieces of mail with other people’s names on them, according to a report.

David Black, 36, of Hampton faces five felony charges from this incident: two counts of financial identity fraud and one count each of fleeing/eluding law enforcement, theft by receiving stolen property, and a habitual violator charge, according to the Fayette County Jail log.

A woman located two Fayette County Sheriff’s Office deputies the morning of June 29 at a convenience store on Hwy. 85 North and told them a man had been following her in his vehicle since a traffic altercation in the wee hours of the morning. Deputies spotted him as he left the area and he led them on a short pursuit.

Fayetteville police assisted the deputies in the stop, with one of the city officers performing a PIT maneuver, according to an FCSO spokesman.

Jose Gutierrez, 38, of Union City was arrested and charged with fleeing/eluding law enforcement, driving without a valid license, aggressive driving and reckless driving.

The driver of a stolen motorcycle was apprehended the easy way the evening of June 30. The vehicle was reported stolen out of Riverdale and located in front of a massage parlor on N. Glynn Street. Deputies simply waited for the suspect to come out of the establishment and then took him into custody.

Fahim Dilshad, 30, of Fayetteville was charged with theft by receiving stolen property and driving with a suspended license.

According to reports, deputies on patrol the evening of July 1 spotted a car near Rivers Road and Buckeye Road with no active tail lights. After a short pursuit the vehicle was pulled over, but when deputies approached, the driver said she was not getting out.

Instead, she drove off. After another pursuit she pulled into the driveway of a residence and tried to simply walk into the house. It is not known if she had any actual connection to that location, according to a Fayette County Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Deputies caught her before she could get inside and, although she continued to resist, took her into custody in the driveway.

Latesha Howard, 43, of Oak Hills, Calif., faces a felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude along with obstruction of an officer and several traffic violations.

Elsewhere in the county, a July 1 traffic stop on Hwy. 85 saw a driver try to outsmart Fayetteville police. A police spokesman indicated that the driver, who had a suspended license, switched places with the passenger in the car as the traffic stop was initiated.

A search of the vehicle turned up more than a pound of marijuana as well as a firearm. The driver, as it turned out, had more than just a suspended license to motivate him to evade arrest – he was a convicted felon.

Breshun Rainey, 31, of Union City was charged with driving with a suspended license along with three felonies: possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm/knife in commission of a crime, and drug possession/sale/manufacture.

Peachtree City officers were dispatched in the wee hours of July 2 to a location on Smokey Way in reference to a fight. After an investigation was conducted, Zachary Thoman, 21, was cited for social hosting and released. Luisdavid Vivanco, 19, of Peachtree City faces two felony counts of manufacturing or sale of false identification and four counts of simple battery against police, as well as obstruction of an officer and underage alcohol possession.