Chase leads to arrest

Published 10:58 pm Friday, August 8, 2014

A Walker County man was arrested and more than $10,000 worth of meth discovered following a chase on Thursday in Whitfield County that lasted approximately 20 minutes, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office said. During the chase the man’s truck hit several parked vehicles.

Eric Lamar Gilbert, 38, of 1895 Ringgold Road, LaFayette, was arrested after sheriff’s deputies, Dalton police officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers chased the pickup truck he was driving in the Glenwood Avenue-Walnut Avenue and South Bypass areas, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

The sheriff’s office’s narcotics unit had received information that Gilbert, who was released from prison in June, was selling and delivering meth in Whitfield County. Capt. Rick Swiney with the sheriff’s office said officials learned Gilbert planned to deliver meth inside the county on Thursday.

The press release said a deputy observed Gilbert driving a 1998 pickup truck on Glenwood Avenue at the bypass at around 4:24 p.m. on Thursday. When the deputy attempted to stop the truck, Gilbert went south on Glenwood Avenue.

During the chase, the truck struck several parked vehicles around the Glenwood Avenue-Walnut Avenue area and drove through several parking lots. At one point, the driver intentionally hit a sheriff’s office patrol car, the press release said.

The Georgia State Patrol assisted in the chase as it headed to the South Bypass. A trooper attempted a PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver, where the vehicle is struck in an attempt to stop it, and turned the vehicle around. Gilbert regained control of the truck and drove north in the southbound lane until he turned onto Cavender Road where another state patrol PIT was done.

Officers were able to block the vehicle and take Gilbert into custody. More than $10,000 worth of meth was found after a trooper saw Gilbert drop a bag out the side truck window onto the ground, Swiney said.

Gilbert is being held in the county jail without bond.

Bruce Frazier, a spokesman for the Dalton Police Department, said there were no injuries from the parked cars that were hit.

At this time Gilbert is charged with possession of meth, possession of meth with intent to distribute, trafficking in meth, interference with government property, obstruction of an officer, hit and run, driving with a suspended license, fleeing or attempting to elude police officers and a string of other traffic violations including reckless driving, speeding and running red lights.

The press release said Gilbert was released from prison in June, where he was serving a sentence for a previous meth conviction.