Utica man jailed after chase

Published 12:00 am Monday, February 22, 2010

A Utica man was arrested Saturday evening after nearly an hour-long car chase with deputies from Warren and Hinds counties.

At about 9:15 p.m., Christopher Edward Oliver, 28, 4033 Casey Road, led Hinds County deputies from Utica along Mississippi 27 into Warren County in a stolen 1997 GMC pickup, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Oliver would not yield to lights even after Warren County deputies joined the pursuit, Pace said.

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The suspect turned onto U.S. 61 and drove toward Redwood and turned west onto Floweree Road before turning again into an unplanted corn field, the sheriff said.

Oliver returned to Floweree Road before Warren County deputies created a “rolling road block” with cruisers on each side of the pickup to slow the vehicle, Pace said.

Other deputies deployed tire deflection devices farther down the road, he said.

The cruisers then slowed to let the pickup cross alone, Pace said.

The pickup stopped near the Issaquena County line on U.S. 61 North and Floweree Road.

Oliver was charged with driving under the influence and felony eluding at 9:54 p.m., Pace said. He was being held in the Warren County Jail today pending an initial hearing.

In Hinds County, Pace said, Oliver will face auto theft charges because the truck was owned by Oliver’s employer.

The passenger was not charged in Warren County and was released to Hinds County officials Saturday night, Pace said.

No injuries were reported.