Jacobi Merritt, 17, of Ville Platte, at large for failing to appear to answer earlier charges, was booked on new charges involving $420,000 bond.
According to Sheriff Eddie Soileau, detectives were following leads on a series of recent four-wheeler thefts when an ATV sped in front of them on Zenon Road, in the Miller’s Lake area.
The detectives recognized one of the riders as a juvenile male they suspected in the thefts case.
The three males on the ATV ignored orders to stop, making an obscene gesture as they sped off. A 10-minute chase through rice fields and down parish roads ended when Merritt attempted to jump a levee with the machine and it flipped.
Meritt and his two juvenile passengers attempted to run but were quickly rounded up, Merritrt hiding in a storage shed unsuccessfully.
Merritt was being sought by the sheriff’s office after he eluded authorities approximately one week ago. At that time, authorities were attempting to execute a warrant for Merritt for failing to appear on two charges of aggravated second-degree battery. His bond was set at $100,000.
After that incident, another warrant was issued for Merritt for resisting an officer by flight.
He was charged in the current matter with aggravated resisting an officer, two counts of simple criminal damage to property, possession of stolen items, operating an ATV on a roadway and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. His bond on the four different warrants now totals $420,000.
Other charges are pending.
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