October 31, 2005
We have new information as to what may have prompted a dangerous high speed police chase in Louisa County on Sunday.
Louisa County sheriffs don't know for certain but they speculate that drugs could be the reason two suspects led police on a hot pursuit Sunday morning.
Video of the chase shows the suspects dropping things out of the window of the car. Those things are at the lab right now being tested.
Hitting speeds of 105 miles per hour, sheriffs pursued two suspects for over 15 minutes.
During the chase, between four and ten items were thrown from the car. A white powdery substance exploded onto the street.
"They're trying to set up the spike strips down the road and they're trying to get another officer in front of [the speeding vehicle] to do a rolling road block," explained Major Don Lowe of the Louisa County Sheriffs Office as he watched the surveillance video.
But the spike strips and rolling road block weren't necessary; the speeding chase ended when the suspects flew off the road and backed into a sheriff's cruiser.
The driver, Frank Lester Harris, is charged with three felonies including alluding police, and attempted malicious wounding of an officer.
The passenger, Shannon Shelton, is charged with three misdemeanors including resisting arrest.
"I think it started off as a domestic [case]--where the female passenger in the car thought her boyfriend was cheating on her," said Lowe.
Sheriff's say Shelton vandalized a car on Buckner Road around 7 a.m. Sunday. Sheriffs pulled over the fleeing duo a short time later.
"He's questioning the driver about what happened, and when he asks for the driver's information, he gives him false information about his identity," said Lowe.
That's when the driver hit the gas and made a run for it.
"Obviously they had something to hide, and we won't know for sure until the lab reports come back from the substance that was thrown out of the vehicle, and the presence of a large amount of cash in the vehicle, and the small denominations is a little concerning to us to," said Lowe.
Sheriff's don't expect those test results for about a month.
The sergeant whose car was hit was treated and released from UVA hospital for a sprained neck. There was over $2000 in damage to his vehicle.
Frank Harris was denied bond and will remain in jail. His next court appearance is November 10.
