Andrew Paul Johnson

A meth-trafficking suspect eluded an officer in a car chase two weeks ago that ended with him wrecking a friend’s car. And again on Tuesday the suspect slipped away for a short while as he was tipped off that police were at his residence.

When officers fanned out around the suspect’s Norman Park home, they found the pickup truck he had been driving and located him in a wooded area.

Andrew Paul Johnson faces charges related to the July 1 pursuit in which a driver fled from a Colquitt County Sheriff’s deputy. He faces additional charges related to suspected methamphetamine found inside his residence as well as marijuana and a gun found in the pickup truck.

Sheriff’s Inv. Randy Rakestraw recognized Johnson driving an Acura MDX at about 12:15 p.m. July 1 and tried to detain him because he said he was aware that he does not have a valid driver’s license.

“I attempted to conduct a traffic stop at the intersection of R.L. Sears Road and R.L. Norman Road,” he said. “I could see him in my side-view mirror. He looked at me. I turned on my blue lights and he sped off at a high rate of speed on R.L. Norman Road.”

While driving at speeds of 85 to 90 miles per hour, Johnson “reached out his left hand with a clear plastic bag and started shaking his hand,” Rakestraw said. “A clear, crystal substance flew out (that was) approximately one-half the size of a golf ball.”

As they reached the 45 zone in Norman Park with the fleeing SUV traveling at  95 miles per hour, Rakestraw said he ended the pursuit due to the danger posed to pedestrians and other drivers. The driver turned onto East Broad Street and when Rakestraw reached the intersection he could see the car turn left onto Lonnie Brookard Road still running at high speed.

By the time he reached the first curve on that road, Rakestraw found the car wrecked and that the driver had left on foot, so he returned to the area where the suspect dumped something out of the window. In the 2200 block R.L. Norman Road, he said he found a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.

A witness in Norman Park reported seeing the driver of the vehicle throw out another bag on East Broad Street in Norman Park. That bag, found in a driveway at 283 E. Broad St., also contained suspected crystal meth.

Inside the wrecked car, a search turned up several small pieces of suspected methamphetamine, three on the driver’s floor mat and three more in a shoe box on the passenger floorboard that also contained a small amount of suspected marijuana. 

The driver’s head hit the windshield when the car crashed, leaving hair in the cracked glass as well as blood inside. Samples have been sent for DNA analysis for identification.

The owner of the Acura told police that he had loaned it to Johnson the previous day and that he was supposed to return it in a short time.

“We had been looking for him for the past two weeks,” Rakestraw said. “I received a phone call — I was told he was at his residence at 609 Bear Creek Road.”

Police obtained a warrant to search that residence for Johnson. He was not there and did not return after apparently receiving a tip that officers were there.

Apparent drugs and paraphernalia were in plain sight inside the residence, Rakestraw said.

“We learned he was occupying a white ’99 Ford F-150,” he said. “Deputies searched the neighborhood in an attempt to locate him. They located the truck at 3354 Hwy. 319 N.”

One of the deputies spotted Johnson sitting with his back to the truck in a wood line about 30 yards from where the truck was parked, and he was taken into custody.

A search of the truck turned up between one-quarter and one-half  pound of marijuana and a Hi-Point 9 mm pistol, Rakestraw said. And after getting a warrant to search the Bear Creek residence, another gram of suspected crystal meth was found, along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia. 

The combined weight of the suspected methamphetamine found on July 1 totaled more than 28 grams — the amount that warrants a trafficking charge. It would be worth $1,500 to $1,800 on the street, Rakestraw said.

So far police have charged Johnson only in connection with the July 1 incident. Those charges include felony fleeting or attempting to elude police officer, trafficking methamphetamine, reckless driving, littering, possession of marijuana and failure to maintain lane.

“He’s still under investigation, so there’s still pending charges,” Rakestraw said of the Tuesday activity.