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High-speed chase leaves Statesboro man in custody
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A man fleeing from law enforcement Tuesday was intoxicated, according to reports. After a chase involving Georgia State Patrol troopers, a K-9 unit from Reidsville State Prison and a helicopter piloted by local businessman Ellis Wood, a Statesboro man was apprehended and arrested following a high-speed chase from Evans County into Bulloch County.
    Eddirico Sanchez Eason, 25, Roundtree Street, was driving on Daisy-Nevils Highway around 3:25 p.m. Tuesday about three miles from Evans County when GSP Cpl. Robert Balkcom spotted the car, recognizing it as one the Claxton Police had been seeking.
    Claxton Police officers noticed Eason pumping gas in Claxton and believed he may have been intoxicated, Balkcom said. The pursued Eason, but he did not stop, and superior officers told them not to give chase, he said.
    Officers ran the vehicle's tag and discovered it returned to a Statesboro address, so officers in the Bulloch County area were on the lookout for Eason's vehicle, he said.
    Driving in the direction he thought they may take, Balkcom "ran into them, but they wouldn't stop," he said. He pursued the car as Eason sped up to 110 miles per hour. When Eason tried to make a turn onto Ephesus Church Road,  he lost control of the vehicle and ran into a ditch, he said.
    But the chase did not end there, Balkcom said. Eason and a male passenger fled on foot while a third male passenger remained in the car.
    Officers did not pursue the passenger who fled, but called for help from the Reidsville State Prison K-9 unit and from Wood, who often helps local law enforcement by offering use of his helicopter to locate fugitives. "Within 15 minutes, we had (Eason) in custody," Balkcom said.
    Eason was charged with DUI, fleeing/attempt to elude, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, improper turn, no seat belt, obstruction  and driving in excess of 110 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone, he said.
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