At approximately 2:25 pm on 7/16/2017 EPD Officers received a B.O.L. (Be on the lookout) for a vehicle that was seen by citizens to be hitting guardrails and having at least one tire down to the rim. Officers located the vehicle heading west on Diamond Ave and attempted to stop the vehicle to check the driver’s welfare. The driver, later identified as 54 year old MICHAEL JONES of Tennessee stopped for a short moment and appeared to be messing with something in his lap.
Michael Jones then fled the stop in his vehicle. Officers could visibly see Jones reaching in his lap area making movements. A VCSO deputy arrived to assist and deploy stop sticks and use his vehicle to shield himself so that he could safely do so. Michael Jones, who had a clear lane of travel, chose to drive his vehicle directly at the VCSO deputies’ vehicle causing a significant crash. The deputy was able to get out of the way of the collision but sustained minor injuries.
EPD Officers, with the assist ance of VCSO, were able to get Jones out of the vehicle and place him under arrest. A search of his vehicle after the arrest revealed that Jones had a firearm inside the vehicle within his reach. Jones had several out of state prior felony convictions and was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, felony resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, carrying a handgun with a prior conviction, and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
