By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — What began as a vehicle stop by law enforcement for a broken taillight turned into a high-speed chase on Interstate 85 through two counties. The man police were pursuing was eventually arrested and found with narcotics, according to Salisbury Police.

Police charged Jeremy Wayne Davis Hasty, 29, of the 100 block of Hawkins Avenue, with possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule VI substance, felony fleeing to elude arrest, simple possession of Schedule II substance and trespassing on a railroad right-of-way.

On Thursday around 9:20 p.m., a Salisbury Police officer tried to stop a Dodge Challenger with a broken taillight in the northbound lane of I-85. The driver accelerated to 85 mph and drifted between two lanes. The driver did not initially stop, but eventually came to a stop at mile marker 78, said Police Detective Russ DeSantis.

The driver handed over his license and registration. The driver, who was identified as Jeremy Hasty, told the officer he was headed to Greensboro. The officer detected the smell of marijuana. The officer went back to his patrol car to search for the driver’s information.

The officer noted the database showed Hasty had a previous drug arrest so the officer requested a dog. The  handler walked up to the driver’s door and noted Hasty had his hand tucked under his leg, DeSantis said.

He was asked to step out of the vehicle. Police said instead, Hasty rolled the window up, put the car in gear and sped away.

The officer pursued Hasty, who reached speeds over 100 mph. The driver traveled over the Yadkin River Bridge and the officer lost sight of the Dodge. The officer quickly caught up to the car at exit 84 before he lost sight of the car again, DeSantis said.

The officer began to call the chase off, but another officer told him the direction the car was headed, Seven Oaks Drive, was a dead-end road. The chase continued and the vehicle was located. The officers approached the vehicle with their weapons drawn, DeSantis said.

They ordered Hasty to show his hands. He yelled from a nearby wooded area that his hands were up. The officers told Hasty if he did not come out of the woods they would release the dog. He complied and surrendered.

DeSantis said Hasty came out of the woods with a Louis Vuitton bag and a baby bag that had 16 grams of marijuana and five oxycodone pills inside. He also had $1,152 in cash.

Hasty has since been released from the Rowan County Detention Center under a $20,000 secured bond.