The Ohio County Sheriff’s Office has released information on Thursday’s high-speed pursuit that ended near Caneyville.
Ohio County Sheriff Adam Wright said that “while part of an extensive drug investigation, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office and Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force, with assistance of the McLean and Muhlenberg County Sheriff’s Office’s, conducted a lengthy undercover surveillance operation in McLean County on three suspects sought for serious felony narcotic warrants.”
On Thursday afternoon, the suspects were observed leaving McLean County in a Ford truck traveling towards Ohio County. The suspects were closely followed by Ohio County Sheriff’s Office detectives and the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force into Beaver Dam.
A traffic stop was attempted for a traffic violation, Wright said, when the vehicle accelerated and ran a red light. The Beaver Dam Police Department then joined the chase as the truck accelerated to a high rate of speed.
The vehicle turned onto Hwy 231 before turning onto Hwy 505 to Horse Branch.
Grayson County Deputies Sean Fentress and Bradley Bates, along with Sgt. Jordan Jones, who were not near the area, began traveling toward Caneyville.
The fleeing vehicle turned off Beaver Dam Road onto Yeaman Road before turning onto Free Zion Road. The vehicle continued to flee, turning onto Oller Road, a short, dead-end gravel road.
As the truck approached the end of Oller Road, it swerved into a private yard and up a hill and into a field. Once in the field, the truck became disabled after hitting a ditch (formerly a farm access road).
The three occupants, Luke Alexander, 26, of Owensboro, Johnathon Bray, 26, of Livermore, and Briana Ellis, 19, of Martin County, attempted to flee into a nearby wooded area, according to the property owner who witnessed the incident, but were slowed by a barbed-wire fence. The suspects were quickly taken into custody by Ohio County authorities and transported and lodged in the Ohio County Detention Center.
The three suspects, Wright said, “had multiple outstanding, serious drug-related felony warrants stemming from multiple counties across Kentucky.” It was initially believed that Ellis also had an outstanding federal warrant.
The new charges are as follows:
Alexander — two counts of receiving stolen property (under $10,000), possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), cultivating marijuana, possession of synthetic drugs, two counts of fleeing or evading police (motor vehicle, on foot), first-degree wanton endangerment, speeding, and disregarding a stop sign.
Ellis — three counts of possession of controlled substance (fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine), possession of marijuana and fleeing or evading police (on foot).
Bray — trafficking in a controlled substance (methamphetamine), fleeing or evading police (on foot), and failure to appear for a bond revocation hearing.
(Headline photo l-r: Luke Alexander, Briana Ellis, Johnathon Bray)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@105.com
