Pursuit update: Deputies fired at man's tires as he tried to run them over, officials said

Officials say the man who led Stone County deputies on a low-speed chase into Harrison County had been pulled over in a traffic stop when he tried to run his car into deputies and they fired shots to disable it.

James Louis Harness III, 26, was apprehended Monday night in Saucier on U.S. 49 across from Ridge Road, two miles south of Adams Road.

Harness faces two counts of aggravated assault, felony fleeing and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and reckless driving.

Stone County Justice Court Judge Ricky Farmer set bonds Tuesday totaling $151,000.

Before his arrest, Harness was taken to a hospital. Officials said a Harrison County K-9 bit him when he refused to get out of his car.

"It wasn't a very high-speed chase, but he tried to run over two of my deputies," Stone County Chief Deputy Phyllis Olds said.

Deputies had pulled over Harness after dark, about 7 p.m., as he drove his 2006 Toyota Corolla south on U.S. 49 at Sunflower Road with his headlights off, Stone County sheriff's Capt. Kevin Sharpe said.

When Harness tried to drive away, deputies shot at his tires hoping to flatten them, but the chase was on, Sharpe said.

"It was very slow but dangerous," he said. "His speed never got over 50 to 60 mph."

Deputies tried using their patrol cars to "box him in" to no avail, he said.

"While in Harrison County, the vehicle stopped a total of three times and would start going again once we got out of our vehicles," Sharpe said.

Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson said he'd just gotten home when he heard one of his dispatchers give an alert on a chase heading into Harrison County.

"I jumped in my truck and went out there," Peterson said.

Peterson said Harrison County deputies placed spike strips on the highway near Adams Road to flatten the car's remaining tires, but the Harness kept driving. He'd gone about 15 miles with his tires almost completely shredded before he was forced to stop, Peterson said.

Officials said Harness didn't give up when he found himself boxed in, across the highway from the Truck Driver Institute.

Harness refused orders to get out of his car until a K-9 bit his left arm, officials said.

"The K-9 jumped straight through the window," Sharpe said.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Pursuit update: Deputies fired at man's tires as he tried to run them over, officials said ."