Suspect Intentionally Rams Patrol Car During Pursuit then Climbs Inside Cruiser

On Monday, February 20, 2017 at 9:00 PM the Sheriff’s Office responded to 211 Brookview Drive after a resident called 911 to report that that her brother, Mr. Jeremiah Jones, was at her front door and refusing to leave.

Mr. Jones had left the scene in a blue Ford Explorer SUV by the time the deputies arrived. As the deputies took a harassment complaint from the victim, Mr. Jones returned to the scene. Mr. Jones sped down the street, skidded to a stop behind a patrol car, and then began yelling at the deputies. Mr. Jones appeared at one point to be trying to take off his shirt in preparation to fight. Mr. Jones refused to obey commands, even after being threatened with a taser. Mr. Jones then ran to his vehicle, speeding off and nearly striking a parked sheriff’s cruiser.

Mr. Jones drove east on Brookview Drive and then west on Southbrook Drive towards a cul-de-sac. Mr. Jones then turned around by driving through the front yard of a residence. Mr. Jones then accelerated and intentionally rammed the driver side door of the pursuing patrol car that had stopped in the roadway. The impact shattered the windows of the patrol car and deployed the side airbags. Mr. Jones’ Ford Explorer also struck a parked Toyota passenger vehicle after striking the patrol car.

Mr. Jones then exited his vehicle, opened the passenger side door of the patrol car and climbed inside. The deputy could not escape and was forced to draw his service pistol, holding Mr. Jones back at gunpoint until another deputy could arrive.

The responding sheriff’s deputy removed Mr. Jones from the patrol car and held him on the ground so that the initial pursuing deputy could crawl out the passenger side of the cruiser. During a struggle that lasted several minutes, Mr. Jones was tasered twice and eventually subdued and handcuffed. Mr. Jones was then transported to the Vanderburgh County Jail.

The deputy involved in the pursuit sustained a laceration to his knee. Another deputy sustained minor abrasions while attempting to subdue Mr. Jones at the crash scene.

ARRESTED:

Jeremiah Cates Jones (pictured above), 32, of Fort Branch. Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon as a Level 3 Felony, Criminal Recklessness as a Level 6 Felony, Battery on a Public Safety Official as a Level 6 Felony, Resisting Law Enforcement as a Level 6 Felony, Resisting Law Enforcement as a Class A Misdemeanor

Pictured above: Crash scene on Southbrook Drive.

Presumption of Innocence Notice: The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.