Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Were Recently Involved in Two Separate Pursuits

According to Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver – early Sunday morning a Piedmont man attempted to elude law enforcement in the Jordan’s Gin area.  Corporal Smith was conducting a business check at Unity Hill Church when he observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on County Road 31 and when he attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle refused to pull over, causing a pursuit at speeds of over 100 mph.  That pursuit came to an end when the vehicle pulled behind a residence on County Road 33.  The driver was identified as Steven Curtis Delevie, age 33.  Delevie was arrested and transported to the Cherokee County Detention Center for Attempt to Elude (Felony), Driving Under the Influence, and Violation of Prohibition Law.

Also, according to Sheriff Jeff Shaver, last weekend Lieutenant Vaughn was patrolling on County Road 19, when he observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and attempted to stop it.  The vehicle refused to stop and a pursuit ensued with speeds reaching over 100 mph. The vehicle later came to a stop near the end of County Road 19 and the driver was identified as a juvenile – and was arrested and transported to Coosa Valley Youth Services on Attempting to Elude (Felony) charges.

Sheriff Jeff Shaver said that the Alabama Legislature, this past session, gave law enforcement across the State another tool in dealing with pursuits.  That new law – which was sponsored by Representative Ginny Shaver – created multiple reasons that attempting to elude becomes a felony; including speeding greater than 20 miles per hour during the pursuit.  According to Chief Deputy Josh Summerford, criminals almost always exceed speeds over 20 MPH of the speed limit when running from law enforcement.  He also stated “We are very appreciative of the Legislature, and Representative Shaver’s leadership, in providing this new tool to try to prevent pursuits and to hold those accountable for creating these dangerous situations,”

The new law went into effect on September 1st.