A high-speed chase involving a motorcycle and Jones County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mitch Sumrall reached speeds of over 100 mph on Interstate 59 on Wednesday morning.
The pursuit started when Chief Deputy Sumrall tried to stop a Harley Davidson motorcycle traveling northbound on I-59 near the 90-mile marker in Ellisville.
The motorcyclist, later identified as 43-year-old James Alton Berry III of Purvis, Mississippi, accelerated to over 100 mph, prompting a pursuit. The chase continued until Berry reached the 16th Avenue off-ramp in Laurel, where Laurel Police Department officers were attending to a two-vehicle injury crash.
Believing that the Laurel police units were blocking the intersection as part of his escape, Berry stopped and was taken into custody by Chief Deputy Sumrall.
Berry was arrested and charged with Reckless Driving in Excess of 100 mph, Failure to Yield to Blue Lights, and Driving with a Suspended License. He is currently being held at the Jones County Adult Detention Facility, awaiting his initial appearance in Jones County Justice Court.
