City pursuit of stolen vehicle leads to felony arrests Saturday morning
The pursuit of a stolen vehicle Saturday morning resulted in the arrest of two men on felony and misdemeanor charges after they both fled the scene.
John Lee Scott, 23, the alleged driver, who lists a School Street address, and Dachino Shaquen Cheatham, 26, who is reportedly homeless, were both taken into custody around 9:30 a.m. and each charged with a felony count of theft by receiving over $2,500, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and a misdemeanor count of fleeing on foot.
Scott, who was a felon on parole, was also charged with a felony count of fleeing in a vehicle, punishable by up to six years in prison. Scott was held on zero bond and Cheatham was held on a $4,000 bond and both were set to appear Monday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, around 8:15 a.m. Saturday, a local man reported the theft of his silver 2006 Chevrolet Avalanche from a parking
lot in the 100 block of Hobson Avenue. The owner said he had exited the vehicle briefly and walked around the side of the building, leaving the keys in the ignition.
When he returned about 15 minutes later, he discovered his vehicle was gone and noted there was a power washer in the back, a large sum of money in the console and his cellphone was in the front seat.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m., Cpl. Patrick Langley spotted the stolen vehicle at Silver Street and Malvern Avenue and tried to catch up to it, but it sped away, running numerous stop signs and reaching speeds up to 45 mph on residential streets.
At one point, the vehicle pulled into a private lot near Gaines Avenue and East Belding Street before heading west on Belding where it made “several erratic movements” before the driver jumped out and fled, leaving the vehicle in gear.
The driver, later identified as Scott, ran to the back of the building where he was taken into custody by Langley and Officer Richard Davis. The vehicle was recovered along with the power washer, but the money and phone were still missing.
Officer Cash Murray had also responded to the incident and saw the passenger, whom he recognized as Cheatham, flee from the vehicle. He was able to catch him and took him into custody as well.
Cheatham reportedly stated he and Scott had been “squatting” at a house on Crescent Street and Scott had left that morning, only to return a short time later with the stolen truck. He said they decided to “take the truck for a drive” and were then caught by police.