A Homer man who led police on a chase all the way from Ingles to the J & J Center and back on U.S. 441 and Hwy. 334 faces 14 charges.
According to the arrest report, an officer observed John Matthew Criswell, 37, of 119 Crane Mobile Home Drive, Homer, exit the Kangaroo convenience store on South Broad Street, turn the wrong way on South Broad and head toward Ingles.
At the intersection, the officer said the vehicle skidded to a stop for the red light in the middle of the intersection, at which time the officer attempted to stop the vehicle. According to the report, Criswell sped up, leading the officer on a chase down U.S. 441 at speeds that reached 95 miles per hour. The officer said it appeared that Criswell was going to turn into the J & J Center, but instead did a U-turn, then circled the police officer's car four times before heading north on U.S. 441. The officer noted in his written report that he could see the driver - the only occupant - was actually on the passenger side of the vehicle at the time.
The chase went north to Hwy. 334 back toward Commerce, where near Ingles another officer deployed the "stop sticks" that punctured Criswell's tires, after which the suspect drove into a field, jumped out of his vehicle and ran - only to be apprehended.
Officers charged Criswell with DUI, improper stopping in the roadway, failure to maintain a lane, going the wrong way on a one-way street, a seat belt violation, obstruction, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, fleeing and attempting to elude, speeding, driving too fast for conditions, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, driving without a license and driving in violation of license restrictions.
