A man previously arrested for aggravated assault after what is thought to be a failed drug deal is back behind bars after leading Lowndes County deputies on a chase through the north part of the county Monday night and hitting one deputy’s vehicle.
Joshua Tate, 21, of 775 Land Road, Apt. 58, is in custody at Lowndes County Adult Detention Center with charges of felony fleeing from police officers, possession of methamphetamines, felony assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and a string of traffic violations, according to LCSO Chief Deputy Marc Miley.
The chase began late Monday night or early Tuesday morning — about midnight, Miley said — when a deputy attempted to pull Tate over on North Ridge Road for a traffic violation. Tate then turned his headlights off and took off toward Military Road, Miley said.
The chase lasted about 10 minutes, with Tate driving from Military Road to Wolfe Road and then Highway 12 heading back toward Columbus, running other vehicles off the road along the way. On Highway 12, Tate rammed a deputy’s vehicle, disabling it.
After the wreck, Tate jumped out of his vehicle and ran into the woods where deputies tackled him. They later found on Tate a felony amount of methamphetamines, Miley said.
Neither the deputy whose vehicle was struck nor anyone else was injured in the chase, Miley said.
LCSO previously arrested Tate in late March for aggravated assault manifesting in extreme indifference to life. Tate is accused of shooting at a stopped vehicle at the intersection of Wolfe Road and Nelson Road on Christmas Eve. No one in the vehicle was injured.
Tate’s bond was set at $20,000 on the assault charge. Miley said the suspect had only been out of the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center four or five days when deputies attempted to pull him over Monday night.
Tate’s bond for charges stemming from the chase has not yet been set.
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