Police Search For Suspect After Attempted Shooting, Wild Chase

Friday, September 7th 2007, 4:22 pm

By: News On 6

A suspect, involved in a string of near deadly crimes, appears to have gotten away from police. Tulsa officers are on the lookout for a man they say is responsible for a shooting and a wreck that left people seriously hurt. News On 6 anchor Jennifer Loren reports it was a bizarre string of events that put two schools, Hawthorne Elementary and Penn Elementary, on lockdown. And the suspect is still on the loose.

Tulsa police are looking for 28-year old Jermaine Jeffery. Officers say he tried to shoot his girlfriend at 8th and Wheeling Friday afternoon, but missed. His girlfriend called police with a description, and minutes later officers spotted Jefferyâ€™s truck speeding down Apache.

By the time police caught up to his truck they say he had caused a horrible wreck in the 1700 block of East Apache. Two women were taken to the hospital as a result of the wreck. A 19-year-old, possibly on her way to church, was taken in critical condition; the other was in fair condition.

"The suspect vehicle didn't slow down much. I was at Yorktown and Apache and he passed me and he was still going probably 80 to 90 miles per hour with heavy damage," said Tulsa Police Sergeant Robert Rohloff.

By the time police caught up with his truck they say he was dodging traffic and lost control of the vehicle. He crashed into a wooded area off 36th Street North and Lewis.

"We were coming right through the light at 36th and Lewis and this black car sped past us and hit the curb and almost hit us," said witness Tanisha Jordan.

Police recovered a gun from the truck, but Jeffery had taken off on foot. Canine officers led police toward the Comanche Park Apartments, located at 3608 N. Quaker Avenue, and thatâ€™s when police got an unusual phone call.

"At this point he's made phone contact with us, says he wanted to surrender and says he's in Comanche Park. But at this point we're not sure where in that complex he may be," Rohloff said.

But Jeffery did not surrender. After searching Comanche Park Apartments police called off their search, but they say they're confident they'll catch Jeffery at some point.

Police have had a couple of phone calls from people who said they saw Jeffery near those apartments, but so far they haven't been able to catch up with him. When and if they do catch him, he faces a long list of felonies, including shooting with intent to kill, and depending on how the critical wreck victim does, he could face homicide charges as well.

If you see Jermaine Jeffery or know where he is youâ€™re asked to call Crimestoppers, 596-COPS.

Watch the video: Shooting Suspect Leads Police On Chase, Causes Accident