Swansea, SC (Paul Kirby) – Officers with the Swansea Police Department detained two people and eventually arrested one after a long chase that wove in and out of Lexington and Calhoun Counties Thursday night. This all occurred after an officer tried to stop a pickup truck reported stolen out of Lexington County.
Of the two that were detained, Jesse Roberts, the man driving, was arrested. He was eventually transported to the Lexington County Detention Center where he will probably face a bond hearing Friday,
The pursuit was initiated by Roberts when he failed to yield after a Swansea officer activated his cruiser’s warning devices. Roberts quickly fled toward Calhoun County where deputies from that county’s department were trying to get in a position to assist. In the Swansea area, it is easy for fleeing suspects to run through Lexington, Calhoun County, and Orangeburg County, or the three depending on the direction they drive. The department’s chief, Cliff Hayes, pursued a stolen vehicle last year that eventually did just that. He chased a suspect in a stolen car through all three counties before the pursuit ended in the Pelion area.
Thursday, Roberts turned on several dark country roads but never shook the highly trained officers in their police cruisers. Roberts finally crashed the stolen truck into a field at Bull Swamp Road. He and his passenger then got out and tried to flee on foot. Officers quickly located and detained them both. Eventually the passenger was released. The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department had a K-9 enroute, but officers have not said if the animal was ever deployed.
Roberts claimed he was injured, and an ambulance was dispatched to transported him to the hospital. He was examined in the ER before being taken to jail for booking. Troopers with the SCHP worked the crash as is standard procedure when any vehicle wrecks while fleeing police.
Swansea officers have charged Roberts with being in possession of the stolen vehicle, failure to stop for the pursuing officers, DUS 3rd, vandalism, failure to obey the commands of the police officers, and being a habitual offender.
Officials with the Swansea Police Department said after everything was over just how much they appreciated the assistance of other agencies that helped in bringing the pursuit to a close and arresting Roberts.
