Fugitive arrested after high speed chase

Interagency cooperation helped the Jacksonville Police Department and The Onslow County Sheriff's Department to nab a fugitive who has been on the run for a year, Sheriff Ed Brown said Friday.

Cruz Abney, 20, of Hadley Collins Road in Maysville, wanted on multiple drug charges, had been evading law enforcement in the Belgrade area for months.

He had been seen in the passenger seat of a 2006 BMW traveling north on U.S. 17 just outside of Jacksonville. The car was being driven by Thomas White, 45, of Wood Land Drive.

Officers from the JPD Community Response Team attempted a traffic stop, but the BMW accelerated and a chase ensued with speeds reaching more than 100 mph, authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies deployed stop sticks, which flattened all four of the BMW's tires.

White was taken into custody at the BMW. Abney ran away but was shortly caught in a wooded area, Brown said.

Abney was charged by the Sheriff's Department with three counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine; three counts of selling cocaine, three counts of delivering cocaine; three counts of manufacture cocaine by packing and repackage; two counts of resist, obstruct or delay law enforcement; and a felony warrant from Jones County, according to warrants.

The JPD charged Abney with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine; selling cocaine; delivering cocaine; felony conspiracy; resist, obstruct or delay of law enforcement and assault on a government official.

His bond totaled $191,000

White was charged by the JPD with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine; selling cocaine, delivering cocaine; maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances; conspiracy, fleeing to elude arrest; careless and reckless driving; and harboring a fugitive.

His bond was set at $40,000.

Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read his blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.