Manhunt moves to Memphis


Thursday, December 8, 2011
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Manhunt moves to Memphis

By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

Photos by Barry Burleson

The suspects’ vehicle ended up in the backyard of a residence on Hollow Tree Lane, just off Cayce Road. They ran into the woods.

Two suspects are identified and being sought in Memphis, Tenn., on charges related to flight from authorities in Piperton, Tenn., according to Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson.

A third suspect is also under scrutiny as a possible passenger in a 2005 smoke-gray Hummer H2, he said.

The saga began about 9 a.m. Friday in Piperton, where the police chief and one of his officers answered a call to a residence concerning a possible break-in.

When Chief Palmer and his shift sergeant arrived to the location, they saw two male suspects coming out of the house and getting into a Hummer. The chief attempted to block the vehicle as it left the driveway and the driver allegedly attempted to run over police officers, who were standing outside their automobile.

Palmer shot out the right rear tire as the vehicle fled Piperton. It entered Marshall County on three tires and a rim, according to Sheriff Dickerson.

A Marshall County Sheriff’s Department patrol car was struck and damaged by the Hummer during the pursuit.

Patrol supervisor David Cook attempted to stop the suspects at a location near the intersection of Cayce Road and Highway 302, but the Hummer did a wheelie and struck Cook’s patrol car, then continued its flight south on Cayce Road.

Cook was slightly injured and shaken up but continued pursuit of the Hummer to a location near H&R Grocery on Cayce Road. There the suspects left the road, drove through a yard, struck the corner of a brick home, damaged a water fixture and came to rest in back of the residence near a wooded area. Two suspects abandoned the vehicle and entered the woods on the east side of Cayce Road, Dickerson said.

The Hollow Tree Lane homeowner, John Thompson, was outside behind a shed at the time the Hummer careened into his yard.

“I was cutting wood and heard something coming through,” Thompson said. “It scared me. They leaped out (of the Hummer), jumped the fence and ran into the woods.”

An extensive manhunt ensued by officers of numerous law enforcement agencies, including the DeSoto County helicopter.

One suspect was taken into custody and brought to the Marshall County jail for questioning and later released.

As the investigation continued into the owner of the Hummer, Dickerson said two suspects were identified, Vince Taylor, 38, and his wife Israel, 31, of Memphis. Warrants were issued for their arrests, he said, as investigators believe Israel Taylor may have picked up her husband in another vehicle at a location in the county following possible cell phone contact by the two.

The sheriff said Vince Taylor faces aggravated assault with a motor vehicle charges upon Cook’s patrol car and causing injury to a law officer in the line of duty. Cook’s vehicle was clearly marked as a sheriff’s patrol car, Dickerson said.

Dickerson said Israel Taylor faces a charge of accessory after the fact for allegedly picking up her husband, whom she is alleged to have known was fleeing pursuit of the law.

Dickerson said the couple jointly owned the Hummer and another vehicle identified as the likely getaway vehicle.

Since Friday, sheriff’s department officials have been working with officers of the Memphis Police Department to locate the two suspects in Memphis, the sheriff said.

Photo by Barry Burleson

Law enforcement officers look over the Hummer that was pursued and abandoned Friday.

The abandoned Hummer contained pieces of industrial size copper pipe and several hundred feet of copper wire that is suspected to have been taken from unoccupied new homes, Dickerson said.

A possible burn site for removing the insulation from copper wire was located within several hundred feet from where the Hummer was abandoned and near another residence.

A lengthy investigation into theft of copper products is ongoing that could be related to this incident, Dickerson said.

He commended the actions of Chief Palmer in attempting to disable the Hummer, which was driven on the rim about six miles before it came to rest in the yard off Cayce Road, and the actions of Deputy Cook, who continued pursuit after his vehicle was struck during the incident.

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