Georgia man followed by police stops at fast food restaurant

Published 1:15 pm Wednesday, January 20, 2016

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — A man whose vehicle bore a stolen license plate stopped for a snack while being followed by a south Georgia police officer.

The driver, Scott D. Johnson, 53, is charged with larceny of parts from vehicle, flight/escape, driving under the influence, falsifying proof of insurance, driving while license suspended/revoked, failure to obey traffic control devices, improper left or right turn, improper passing on left and operating without proper registration.

The officer was monitoring traffic in a residential neighborhood when he ran a check on the license plate of a passing maroon Chrysler PT Cruiser, which showed the license plate had been reported stolen.

Not knowing whether the vehicle also was actually stolen, the officer followed the car, which soon went through a fast-food restaurant drive-through.

When the car left the restaurant, the officer turned on the lights and siren in an attempt to get Johnson to pull the vehicle over.

“The driver refused to pull over, and the pursuit went from East Jackson to 19, turned left and headed north,” Maj. Eric Hampton, Thomasville Police Department public information officer, said.

Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and narcotics agents took over the chase when the car left Thomasville, Georgia city limits.

“The vehicle traveled to the 84 bypass, then County Line Road, turned left and headed back into the city,” Hampton said.

The car later came to a rest when it wrecked.

Johnson was released from the Thomas County, Georgia Jail on a $6,100 bond.

Dozier writes for the Thomasville, Georgia Times-Enterprise.