High-speed chase ends in Greenville
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 17, 2004
What began as a robbery in Lowndes County on Thursday evening ended following a high-speed chase down Fort Dale Road in Greenville, with one suspect taken into custody.
&uot;We received a BOLO (Be On Look Out) from Lowndes County, regarding a white vehicle with three robbery suspects, following an incident that occurred at the Letohatchee Amoco station,&uot; said Greenville Police Department Lt. Michael Cofer, second shift commander. &uot;We sent officers to the Fort Dale Road exit of I-65 to watch for the vehicle.&uot;
Cofer said officers spotted a white-colored Dodge Stratus fitting the description of the vehicle in question, and attempted to stop it.
The suspects chose to run.
When officers checked with the National Crime Information Computer (NCIC), they found the Dodge listed as stolen from Montgomery County.
&uot;A brief chase ensued from the Interstate down Fort Dale Road with officers in pursuit,&uot; Cofer said.
Cofer said the suspects’ car hit another car in front of the Chevron causing minor damage to it. Shortly, the suspects’ car struck a police car at the intersection of Claythorne Street and Fort Dale Road, which caused them to stop.
&uot;The three suspects, two male and reportedly one female, jumped out of the vehicle,&uot; he said.
At this point, the three suspects fled the scene on foot into the woods. Officers chased all three, catching one suspect, Jubry Henry Bledson, 15. The other two evaded capture, and were believed to have left the area.
Investigators from Lowndes County were contacted and came to the scene where they took custody of the suspect, and called Randy’s Wrecker Service of Fort Deposit to impound the vehicle.
Inside the vehicle was a white T-shirt apparently taken off by one of the suspects, and a black-colored B.B. gun that resembled a real handgun.
&uot;We received a complaint of an armed robbery that had just occurred at the Letohatchee Amoco station, located on Alabama Highway 97 at Interstate 65,&uot; said Lt. Rufus Haralson, investigator for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department. &uot;The clerk at the station said three black suspects, two male and one female, came into the store, and one of them was brandishing a gun, demanding money.&uot;
Haralson said the clerk was able to get a good description of the trio and the vehicle they left on which helped get accurate information to other agencies.
&uot;Bledson has been charged with robbery, first degree, and has been charged for this offense as an adult,&uot; Haralson said. &uot;He is currently in the Lowndes County Detention Facility being held under a $30,000 bond. We also know who the second male suspect is, but are not releasing his name at this time because we have not yet apprehended him on the charge.&uot;
The investigator said the clerk’s level thinking saved anything tragic from occurring.
&uot;She kept her cool and did what they asked, and after they were gone she called 911,&uot; he said. &uot;Because of the way she handled the situation, no one was hurt.&uot;