On January 18, 2024, a short chase inside the city led to a crash at First Academy while school was in session, two arrests on illegal drug charges at the scene, a search at another location, and one more drug arrest.
The incident took place around 1:30 p.m. when a deputy saw a white Lincoln traveling east on Ashley Street fail to maintain its lane, according to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. When the officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the Lincoln sped up, went through the intersection of East Ashley Street and South Gaskin Avenue, and turned left on North Coweta Avenue. From there, it turned left on Cleveland Street, where one of the occupants tossed a bag of suspected methamphetamine, a handgun, and a magazine for the gun out of the window, the report states. The suspected drugs and guns landed on the property of First Academy while school was in session.
The vehicle continued toward the First Academy/First Baptist Church building in the direction of the school’s pickup door where it crashed into a concrete barrier, the report states. Two individuals in the vehicle, identified as Chance Robert Casem, 30, of Douglas, and Danea Jolynn Hope, 37, of Nicholls, were arrested and transported to the Coffee County Jail.
Casem was charged with trafficking cocaine, marijuana, illegal drugs, or methamphetamine (two counts); possession/manufacture/distribution of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school; fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer; possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and a host of traffic violations. Hope was charged with trafficking cocaine, illegal drugs, marijuana, or methamphetamine. Both remain in the Coffee County Jail.
A couple of hours later, detectives searched Casem’s home on Jacobs Circle, where they found a quantity of suspected methamphetamine and MDMA. Susie Jewell, 61, of Douglas, also lived at the residence, according to the report. She was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine. Jewell was also transported to the Coffee County Jail but she has since been released.