MOULTRIE, Ga. – A Norman Park man was charged with aggravated assault on an officer after a traffic stop turned into a police chase on a stolen ATV.

Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to stop an ATV at the intersection of Highway 319 North and Newton Road at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, according to CCSO Investigator Blake Livings.

“The traffic stop was initially for failure to maintain lane. The ATV was partially on and off the roadway,” Livings said in an interview Wednesday.

Deputies noted there were earlier reports of stolen ATVs in the area.

“When the deputies approached the vehicle, the ATV began fleeing at a high rate of speed,” Livings said.

The driver turned on Newton Road and wrecked in a field, the investigator said.

“The suspect was able to recover the ATV and proceeded to operate the vehicle. Deputies maintained visuals on the ATV and their pursuit on Newton Road,” he explained.

The driver continued through the intersection of Highway 319 North and J.O. Stewart Road.

Deputies along with Moultrie Police Department officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers set up a perimeter search.

Livings later saw the suspect and ATV at Cherokee Road and Highway 319 North, after which the driver led multiple police units south on Seminole Drive.

“While on Seminole Drive, an MPD investigator was on foot in the area. The ATV then came out of the woodline and began traveling at a high rate of speed,” Livings added.

The MPD investigator made several commands to stop, Livings said, but the driver didn’t do so, causing the investigator to jump out of the way of the ATV.

The law enforcement continued to follow the driver from field to field when the ATV wrecked in a lake. The suspect fled on foot but lost his helmet and backpack.

“We were able to identify the driver of the ATV suspect from his license that was in the backpack,” he said.

Two hours later, law enforcement received a phone call from a property owner who said the suspect was on their land.

Timothy Gauge Dean, 23, 699 J.O. Stewart Road, Norman Park, faces felony charges of theft by receiving stolen property and fleeing or attempting to elude police officers. His additional charges include speeding, driving while license withdrawn, aggravated assault on law enforcement officers, failure to drive within a single lane and failure to give turn signals.

The CCSO said Dean was taken into custody without further incident at approximately 4:30 p.m. The vehicle identification number on the ATV he was driving matched the number of one that had been reported stolen.

It didn’t match the description, however. The ATV that was reported stolen was blue, and the one retrieved from the lake appeared to have been painted red and was missing some parts, Livings said.