By Pat Culverhouse
An attempted traffic stop on Interstate 20 near the Minden exit Tuesday morning turned into a high speed chase that ended in Caddo Parish when spike strips were successfully deployed to end the pursuit, and the 21-year-old driver is in police custody.
Chief of Police Jared McIver said Drake Edward McKinney, a resident of the 300 block of Warriner Ave. in Blanchard, was booked on an arrest warrant for flight from an officer and is being held on a $20,000 bond.
He is also looking at additional charges of illegal carrying of weapons, violation of open container ordinance and no insurance after officers enforced a search warrant for his vehicle.
McIver said Officer Cody James was on Safety Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) patrol shortly before 9 a.m. when he reportedly clocked a speeding vehicle (90 in a 70 m.p.h. zone) in the westbound lane of the Interstate.
When James activated his lights, the driver reportedly accelerated and began to pull away from the officer. Officer James reportedly observed the Dodge Challenger traveling at speeds up to 130 miles per hour and passing traffic on the shoulder of the roadway multiple times.
James reportedly maintained radio contact during the pursuit, but lost visual contact at the intersection of Interstate 20/Interstate 220 in Bossier Parish. After the officer self-terminated the pursuit at that point, information was shortly received that Louisiana State Police troopers had successfully deployed spike strips on I-220 at the Benton Rd. exit.
Despite the successful deployment, the vehicle continued westbound on I-220 until it became disabled on the Interstate in Caddo Parish. Although the driver had managed to leave the scene, he was located on Ed’s Blvd. and taken into custody.
McKinney and his vehicle were returned to Minden where officers obtained a search warrant. Inside the vehicle, officers reportedly found a Taurus 9MM handgun and magazine, plus an open bottle of Tequila.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
