A 22-year-old was recently arrested after allegedly leading a deputy on a chase into two other counties.
According to the incident report, Christian Blue was allegedly driving a vehicle for a suspect in a shoplifting case that occurred just before the chase began. An incident report states that on January 16, a deputy was informed that a city officer had requested assistance from the county department in locating a vehicle involved in a shoplifting incident at the Enmarket on Ocilla Road. Dispatchers with 911 described the vehicle as a gray sedan with a temporary tag and said that the vehicle was traveling toward Ocilla.
A CCSO deputy began patrolling Georgia Highway 32 West to locate the vehicle. When the deputy turned around, he observed a vehicle parked on the right side of the road with all of its lights turned off near Smith Cemetery Road. The report states that the deputy pulled behind the vehicle and observed a tag that matched the description provided by dispatchers. Once the deputy activated his patrol lights and siren, the driver fled toward the Irwin County line.
The deputy continued the chase into Irwin County, following behind the vehicle driving over 100 mph. The vehicle turned right onto Osierfield Road; as the vehicle turned, it drove into a ditch, causing damage to the car. As the deputy approached the vehicle, it then came out of the ditch and continued traveling toward Georgia Highway 206. The deputy then continued the pursuit of the vehicle into Ben Hill County. As the vehicle approached Georgia Highway 206, it turned left off Osierfield before crashing into another ditch at the intersection.
According to the deputy, a male jumped out of the passenger door and run into the woods. The deputy then drew his weapon on the driver and ordered him out of the vehicle. The driver, identified as Christian Blue of Fitzgerald, was placed under arrest as the deputy awaited assistance.
The vehicle, according to the report, was registered to 29-year-old Spencer Mathis of Tifton. In the vehicle, officers found several open cans of Budweiser, an open case of Budweiser, an open case of Natural Light, a brown jacket that matched the description of clothing worn by the suspect who allegedly committed the shoplifting, and a blue backpack with the name Spencer on it.
Blue was charged with one felony offense, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and four traffic violations. He is still being held in the Coffee County Jail.
The passenger of the vehicle has not been booked into the Coffee County Jail as of Thursday morning.