High-speed chase leads to arrests

Published 11:00 pm Tuesday, November 19, 2019

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VALDOSTA — A high-speed chase Tuesday morning resulted in two arrests, according to the sheriff’s office.

At 2:45 a.m., a Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deputy attempted a traffic stop for illegal window tint, according to a sheriff’s office statement. The driver refused to stop and continued south on Interstate 75, reaching speeds of in excess of 130 miles per hour, the statement said.

While fleeing, the occupants tossed a handgun out the window which was later recovered by deputies, according to the sheriff’s office. The pursuit went into Hamilton County, Fla., where Hamilton County deputies joined the pursuit and deployed stop sticks to perform a PIT maneuver, which caused the vehicle to stop, according to the statement. PIT stands for pursuit intervention technique.

Darien Howard, the driver, and passenger Rashaun Williams were arrested, the statement said. Deputies searched the vehicle and found moving boxes filled with vacuum-sealed packages of marijuana, totaling more than 50 pounds, the sheriff’s office said.

Howard and Williams were taken to the Hamilton County Jail, where they will be housed for charges in that jurisdiction and eventually returned to Lowndes County, the statement said. The sheriff’s office did not list the charges filed against the suspects.

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Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.