Nacogdoches County deputies seize 31 gallons of prescription medicine after chase

Nacogdoches, Texas (KTRE) – The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office seized over 31 gallons of prescription promethazine after a high-speed chase that began in the county, passed through Rusk County, and ended in Panola County on January 12. bottom.

DeMarco Bell, 28, of Chicago, Illinois, and Jalen Joshua Johnson, 22, of Indianapolis, Indiana, were arrested after being chased. Both are facing felony charges for evading arrest or detention and Class A misdemeanor charges for possession of dangerous drugs. The sheriff’s office is now looking for a third suspect in his escape from arrest.

At approximately 7:46 a.m. on Jan. 12, sheriffs attempted to stop traffic in a black Hyundai Sonata at Block 8700 North of US 259 ​​in Nacogdoches County, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. The driver of the car did not stop and pulled away from the delegates, quickly reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour. The driver fled north on U.S. Route 259, where Texas Department of Public Safety officers and officers pursued the vehicle as it entered Rusk County.

The driver drove off onto the state highway. 315 in Rusk County as Rusk County law enforcement officers intervened in pursuit and tried to stop the driver. The sheriff’s office statement said the driver reached 115 mph as he fled towards Panola County.

The Panola County Constable placed a spike strip in the road to stop the car, but the driver was able to get around it and at one point turned toward the Panola County Deputy Constable and opened fire on the car, they said. says.

The chase continued to downtown Carthage, where the vehicle briefly stopped and the two suspects got out of the vehicle and fled, according to a sheriff’s office statement. One of them was detained.

A third person in the car continued to flee from law enforcement in the car despite multiple punctured tires.

The chase continued south on Route 59, through Tenaha, and into Timpson, where the driver stopped near the intersection of Routes 59 and 414 in Panola County, where he was detained.

Inside the vehicle, investigators say they found three suitcases and three cardboard boxes filled with 252 one-pint bottles of promethazine, a prescription antihistamine. Promethazine is sometimes mixed with the opioid cough medicine codeine. This combination is often abused.

Initial field tests showed that the promethazine seized from the car did not contain codeine. It is not yet known how the suspect obtained the drugs.

Bell and Johnson were indicted by both Nacogdoches County and Panola County and were held at the Panola County Jail. Both have since bonded. Bell joined on January 14 and Johnson on January 17.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing and may result in additional charges.

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