Ft Payne Police have a man in custody following a high-speed chase running from near the Police Department in downtown Ft Payne all the way to Hammondville – where the suspect crashed his vehicle Monday night.

Officers attempted to pull over a silver Ford Fusion around 8:30 however the driver instead of complying, chose to hit the gas, speeding away down Gault Avenue North past the Sports Complex and the Heil Company, eventually reaching speeds of more than 100 miles an hour until reaching Valley Head.

At that point the suspect turned onto Highway 117 toward Hammondville where the Valley Head Police Department joined the chase; that chase then continued on Palmer Road where the driver lost control and crashed the vehicle. 

According to police the driver, later identified as a 32 year old resident of Mentone, Michael Jacob Leftwich, was unhurt in the accident; he was placed under arrest at the scene charged with Attempting to Elude and DUI in addition to several moving violations.

An inventory of the vehicle reportedly revealed marijuana, marijuana honey, cookies that contained THC, a marijuana smoking pipe, an open bottle of Gentleman Jack Whiskey – and several items of drug paraphernalia.

Also recovered was a loaded Glock 43 9mm pistol.

Officers reportedly observed the suspect tossing objects out the window of the vehicle near the Ft Payne City Limits, and a search was being conducted for that potential evidence after the chase.

(Southern Torch/www.southerntorch.com)