Three in custody after north Columbia chase
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man faces multiple charges including resisting arrest, evidence tampering, illegal gun possession and drug distribution after a Tuesday morning chase.
Police said Columbia Police detectives from the Street Crimes Unit (SCU) with assistance from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) served a search warrant at a residence, 4001 Oakland Gravel Road, Apt. 202 on Tuesday, Nov. 19. While conducting the search warrant, one person fled in a vehicle, which initiated a vehicle pursuit. Officers said they arrested Joseph A. Luckett Jr., 25, in relation to the chase.
"The search warrant was for heroin, we had information the guy was selling heroin and fentanyl," CPD Lieutenant Lance Bolinger said. "He is also known to be armed and has been involved in shootings in Columbia in the past."
Officers later arrested two more women and took them from the scene in a police cruiser.
The chase ended when police used spike strips to stop the car Luckett was driving, the Columbia Police Department said in a news release. Luckett ran from the car but police found him in a nearby wooded area and arrested him without incident.
Aidan Ford, who lives in the neighborhood said, "I heard like tires screeching so like I walked out the house and there were cop cars lined up and down the street."
Police found five guns and an ounce of heroin in the apartment where the SWAT search was taking place and in the vehicle, according to the release. Two of the firearms were reported stolen, police said.
Video of the scene is available in the player below.
A reporter at the scene saw about a dozen police cruisers on Sir Barton Drive immediately after the chase ended. A helicopter was flying in the area assisting police on the ground.
A gray Toyota Camry at the scene was abandoned.
Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said three schools were put on "hold and secure" status, which means no one is allowed in or out of the buildings: Derby Ridge Elementary, Oakland Middle School, Lange Middle School, Blue Ridge Elementary and the Center for Early Learning - North.
Check back for updates on this breaking story.
