Aggravated assault on a police officer and reckless driving were the cause for a three-county car chase that exceeded 100 mph through Pickens County early in the morning of June 7th.
According to Pickens County Sheriff’s Department Captain of Field Operations Frank Reynolds, local deputies were notified at 2:20 a.m. by Gilmer County that a pursuit was in progress, headed south on Highway 515 towards Pickens County.
The driver, Andrew Scott Pemberton of Ellijay, was the subject of a routine traffic stop in Gilmer County when deputies discovered his license was suspended and he fled the scene, according to information provided by the sheriff’s department.
Two Pickens County Sheriff’s deputies were waiting for Pemberton at the county line to join the pursuit. They tried to box him in with patrol cars and to set up “stop sticks,” to disable his tires, but Pemberton evaded the obstacles, Reynolds said. Other deputies blocked intersections to keep as many drivers off of Highway 515 as possible during the pursuit.
Cherokee County deputies were waiting for Pemberton when he entered Cherokee County and managed to disable the tires of his tan 1991 Buick LeSabre using “stop sticks.” The chase ended when Pemberton’s car came to a halt about one mile above the Riverstone Parkway exit of Interstate 575.
Three deputies approached the LeSabre “to assist him out of the vehicle,” Reynolds said. Reports state Pemberton was combative and resisted arrest. A taser was used to subdue him. Deputies recovered a pistol from his car.
Pickens County resident, Jacob Hicks, witnessed part of the pursuit while driving home. “The car topped the hill with two police directly behind him, and there was a third one directly behind them. They were driving pretty fast, at an excessive rate of speed,” Hicks said.
Pickens County deputies can only enter high-speed pursuits under the conditions of a forceable felony or reckless driving, due to the danger presented by such a chase to persons and property. “As an agency, we want to have the safety of the community in mind,” Reynolds said.
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