BATTLE CREEK, MI – A Kalamazoo man has been charged after a group of five teens led law enforcement in a high-speed chase through Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties early Saturday.
18-year-old James Jackson of Kalamazoo was arraigned in Calhoun County District Court Monday on two counts of resisting and obstruction of a police officer and one count of 4th degree fleeing a police officer.
Jackson was behind the wheel of the stolen vehicle that was disabled by a spike strip in Kalamazoo County Saturday around 6:00 a.m.
The chase started when five suspects in three stolen vehicles fled an apartment complex in Springfield when deputies arrived to respond to a noise complaint.
Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert says they are waiting on reports from police before reaching a decision on the other suspects. Three of the four remaining suspects are juveniles.
A Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office deputy began the pursuit after responding to a noise complaint at an apartment complex on West Dickman Road in Springfield Saturday around 5:30 a.m.
Upon their arrival, multiple vehicles sped from the scene. One of the vehicles struck a Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle and continued fleeing.
Deputies tried to stop the vehicles but eventually lost sight of them.
Calhoun County Dispatch then advised of a vehicle fire matching the description of one of the suspect vehicles on Alden Street in Emmett Township.
Firefighters saw several individuals get out of the suspect vehicle, get into another vehicle, and flee the scene.
Emmett Township Public Safety Officers and Calhoun County Deputies tried to stop those individuals.
Deputies pursued the suspects west on I-94 into Kalamazoo County.
The pursuit ended when Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s deputies deployed stop sticks, which disabled the vehicle at Sprinkle Road near the Business Loop.
The driver fled the scene on foot and was quickly apprehended by Calhoun County deputies.
(reporting from Jim Measel)
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