Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2008
Resize text
Chase ends up in toilet
'Blunt' leads to tenant's arrest
By MICHAEL A. BELL
mbell@sunherald.com
MOST-READ STORIES
- THE WEEK IN CRIME
- Saints pick Pressley tries to overcome injury-plagued past
- MOTORCYCLE CIRCUIT CHANGING DIRECTION
- Man dies after late-night blaze
- Police investigating three-vehicle crash in Orange Grove
- Ellis progressing well in practice
- Coastians still lack housing
- Authorities arrest 22 in Gulfport drug roundup
- One hurt in 3-car crash on U.S. 49
- Coast Guard accepts cutter
GULFPORT --
A landlord wanted for meth led deputies on a high-speed chase that got his tenant busted for pot, authorities said.On Monday, Jack Ray Voyles, 32, cruised toward his home on Carlton Cuevas Road when a Harrison County narcotics unit filed in behind him and switched on the blue lights. The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics had obtained an arrest warrant for the Gulfport man suspected of manufacturing meth.
But Voyles floored the gas pedal of his 2007 Toyota truck, parked it in his backyard and bailed into the woods. Meanwhile, his passenger ran into the mobile home of Voyles' tenant, James Eustice.
A police canine sicced on Voyles, latched onto his leg and kept him at bay. Investigators approached the trailer door and knocked.
Eustice, 31, frantically sprayed the home with air freshener and was "freaking out," said Sgt. Brandon Ladner. "It's just bad timing for James."
Investigators found a "blunt" - a cigar filled with pot instead of tobacco - floating in the toilet and a bag of crack and small amount of marijuana stashed away, Ladner said.
"I wish every case would be this easy," he said.
Eustice and his 24-year-old wife, Amanda, were charged with felony possession of crack cocaine and simple marijuana possession, and were booked at Harrison County jail under $5,000 bond each set by Justice Judge Melvin Ray.
Voyles was treated at a hospital for wounds from Ricks, the police canine, and booked at Harrison County jail under $50,500 bond, also set by Ray.
Deputies also cited Voyles with reckless driving and failure to yield to blue lights and a siren.
The passenger who ran into the trailer, Paul Dameron, was not arrested.
"It's kind of a funny story," Ladner said. "They all knew each other."
