Robbery suspect remains at large

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 19, 2007

DIXONS MILLS &8212; One suspect is still at large on charges of robbery and attempted murder of a police officer, after a July 5 police chase in which shots were fired.

According to Chief Deputy Sheriff Tommy Reese, officials know who the suspect is but have not been able to locate him. They have turned over his information to the National Crime Information Center so that if he is stopped anywhere in the country for any kind of violation, he will be arrested and taken into custody.

Reese said that they have a number of agencies still searching for the suspect, whose name was not released.

Email newsletter signup

One suspect, Jesse Hayes Chandler, is already in custody on charges of two counts of robbery and attempted murder of a police officer. He has been held at the Marengo County jail since his arrest on July 7.

The two suspects were seen driving a navy blue Ford Escape that was spotted leaving Walker&8217;s Grocery at around 10 p.m. the night of the robbery. An undisclosed amount of money was taken from the store.

Officer Tony Gary of the Linden Police Department sighted the vehicle just south of Linden and was in pursuit of the vehicle when shots were fired from the suspect&8217;s vehicle.

Sheriff Jesse Langley said the chase continued up Highway 69 and then onto Highway 80 east towards Faunsdale. Backup units were called from Demopolis Police Department, Clarke County Sheriff&8217;s Department, Perry County Sheriff&8217;s Department, Hale County Sheriff&8217;s Department, Tuscaloosa Sheriff&8217;s Department and Tuscaloosa Police Department.

After backup units responded, the chase came to a standstill as the Escape wrecked at the intersection of Alabama Highway 25 and County Road 12, and the two suspects abandoned their vehicle and continued to flee on foot.

According to Interim Police Chief Scott McClure of Linden, there were approximately 30 units securing the perimeter, which was right outside of Demopolis city limits into Hale County, but they were not able to locate the suspects even with the aid of search dogs from Tuscaloosa Police.

The search continued well into the night, and Langley said the search was called off at about 3 a.m.