Three men were arrested Wednesday morning following two separate vehicle pursuits in Johnson County.
Two of the men were arrested by Johnson County Sheriff’s Office deputies after a pursuit that went into Brown County, while a third man was arrested after an unrelated chase that ended in a Greenwood mobile home community.
Two Johnson County Sheriff’s Office deputies were stationed at the intersection of County Roads 575W and 700S about 4 a.m. Wednesday, ready to assist with a vehicle pursuit in Morgan County. They saw a car driving west on County Road 700S at a high rate of speed, a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryA deputy pursued the vehicle into Brown County at speeds as high as 72 mph, the report said.
The car hit two stop sticks on Spearsville Road and continued to drive before coming to a stop. The deputy chased the driver who had begun running toward a wooded area. A Taser fired at the driver didn’t stick in him, and the deputy continued to chase him before tackling and handcuffing him, the report said.
Three used syringes were found in the driver’s pocket and two spoons were in the car, the report said.
The driver, Philip Lasley, 35, of Trafalgar, was arrested on two charges of resisting law enforcement and charges of possession of a restricted drug injection device and driving with a suspended or revoked license.
The passenger, Jason Richardson, 28, of Nashville, was arrested on a charge of possession of a restricted drug injection device.
Lasley, 8963 N. Green Road, was taken to Johnson County jail on $4,400 bond. Richardson, 4391 State Road 135, Apt. A, was booked into the jail on $1,200 bond.
While the car Lasley was driving was a different make and color than one the Martinsville Police Department had been looking for in Morgan County, because the car had crossed into Johnson County close to where the previous pursuit had ended, Martinsville officers interviewed the two men Wednesday morning to determine if they had been involved in that chase as well.
No link to the Morgan County incident was found, Martinsville Police Department Sgt. Jeremy Sipes said.
In a second chase that began around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, a deputy taking part in a seatbelt enforcement operation chased a man who had fled in a vehicle when the deputy tried to pull him over for not wearing a seatbelt while driving along Worthsville Road, a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report said.
The deputy became concerned during the chase that the driver had a gun and was firing at him, due to loud bangs that were later determined to have been caused by the car backfiring, the report said. No weapons were found in the car or at the scene.
The deputy pursued the driver north on U.S. 31 to the Greenwood Estates mobile home community. The driver got out of his vehicle and ran from the officer, who pursued and stopped the man with a Taser, the report said.
Tristan Perdue, 19, of 40 N. Carlisle St., Bargersville, was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment, the report said. He was later booked into the jail on two charges of resisting law enforcement and one charge of driving without a license.
Perdue told the deputy that he fled from the traffic stop because he does not have a driver’s license, the report said.
