On Thursday a suspect in a theft from the Centre Wal-Mart left the parking lot headed south on U.S. Highway 411. Leesburg Police Officer Jimmy Deberry and Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver spotted the suspect’s vehicle and attempted to stop him, but he fled. Just before the county line, the suspect, later identified as 52 year old Ernest Fitzgerald Jones of Gadsden wrecked and fled on foot. Multiple other officers, including deputies and troopers, quickly setup a perimeter. 

Jones was located and taken into custody by Etowah County deputies and Cherokee County Sheriff’s investigators. Centre Police officers recovered the stolen property from the suspect’s car and charged him with third degree theft of property.

Deputies transported Jones to the Cherokee County Detention Center on the additional charges of attempting to elude, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.