A Hoschton teen remains in the Hall County Jail without bond following a weekend chase in the southern part of the county with a sheriff’s deputy. The chase began about 5:00 Sunday afternoon following a traffic stop.
HCSI NARRATIVE:
“(The deputy saw) a Chevrolet Silverado traveling at a high rate of speed northbound on Spout Springs Road in the area of Thompson Mill Road. The deputy observed the vehicle travel into the oncoming lane of traffic, nearly striking several vehicles, and then running the red light at Spout Springs and Thompson Mill.
The deputy activated the emergency equipment on his patrol vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The driver, later identified as Leandro Garcia Juarez, 17, turned into the Kroger shopping center on Spout Springs and came to a stop after traveling several hundred feet through the parking lot. The deputy approached the vehicle and found Garcia Juarez in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and a teenage girl in the passenger seat.
The deputy detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Garcia Juarez, so he ordered the driver out of the vehicle. Garcia Juarez refused multiple orders to exit his vehicle, so the deputy opened the vehicle door, removed the driver’s seat belt and attempted to remove him from the vehicle. At that point, Garcia Juarez sped away from the traffic stop.
Garcia Juarez then recklessly drove through the parking lot, nearly striking moving vehicles and pedestrians in the area. As he exited the parking lot on Sparta Way, he hit an embankment but continued to drive erratically away from the scene. The deputy pursued Garcia Juarez as the suspect sped down Thompson Mill Road into Gwinnett County. The pursuit ended when Garcia Juarez struck two vehicles near Sardis Church Road.
After removing both Garcia Juarez and his passenger from the vehicle, the deputy determined the passenger was a runaway juvenile out of Cobb County. She was returned to her parents. Garcia Juarez first was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for evaluation. He was then booked at the Hall County Jail on the following charges:
· Fleeing/attempting to elude (2 counts)
· Reckless driving (2 counts)
· Aggravated assault on an officer (felony)
· Obstruction
· Speeding
· Driving on the wrong side of the roadway
· Obedience to required traffic control devices
· Passing in a no passing zone
· Duty to stop at accident
· Failure to maintain lane
· Turn signals required
· Laying drag
· Interference with custody…”