NORWICH – A Johnson City man sits at the Chenango County jail after being accused of numerous crimes, including fleeing a police officer.

According to authorities, on Sunday April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:37 p.m., the Norwich Police Department (NPD) received a call from a local business and it was reported that a suspicious individual was in the store attempting to purchase items using a credit card number, but didn’t have the actual credit card with him.

An employee contacted the Norwich Police and gave the subject’s name and date-of-birth, which was obtained from the subject’s identification.

Police said when that information was checked, it was determined the subject had several active warrants from several different law enforcement agencies in Broome County.

Officers of the NPD responded to the store in an effort to make contact with the subject and to verify his identity. Prior to officers arriving, the subject left the store and entered a vehicle.

When officers attempted to make contact with the subject, he disobeyed their orders to stop and left the parking lot at a high rate of speed.

Authorities said that the vehicle began traveling south on South Broad Street, where he encountered a marked patrol car with its lights and siren activated.

“As the subject attempted to drive past, he struck the front ‘push bumper’ of the patrol car, causing minimal damage,” read a release from the NPD. “The subject continued traveling south, down the middle of South Broad Street at a high rate of speed, passing numerous vehicles. The subject continued traveling south, leaving the City limits.”

Police said that at one point, the subject attempted to pass a vehicle on the right side of State Route 12 and went off the roadway. The subject was said to have drove into a ditch, which caused damage to the vehicle.

“The impact and damage caused the vehicle to surge back onto the roadway and the vehicle continued southbound on State Route 12. The vehicle finally came to stop across from the State Police barracks in the Town of Norwich,” read the release. “The driver and a passenger were then taken into custody without further incident. The driver was transported to Chenango Memorial Hospital by Norwich Fire Department, where was treated for minor injuries and released.”

The passenger of the motor vehicle was ultimately released without charges.

Arrested was 24-year-old Terrell Jefferies, of Johnson City.

Jefferies faces the charges of: reckless endangerment in the first degree, a class D felony; unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicke, a class A misdemeanor; criminal mischief in the fourth degree, a class A misdemeanor, and numerous other vehicle and traffic tickets.

The reckless endangerment charge alleges that Jefferies, while under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person. The unlawful fleeing a police officer charge alleges that Jefferies, knowing that he had been directed to stop his motor vehicle by a uniformed police officer or a marked police vehicle by the activation of either the lights or the lights and siren of such vehicle, he thereafter attempted to flee such officer or such vehicle by driving at speeds which equal or exceeding twenty-five miles per hour above the speed limit or engaging in reckless driving. The criminal mischief charge alleges that Jefferies intentionally damaged property of another person.

The Norwich Police Department was assisted by the New York State Police and the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office.

Norwich Police K9 Nitro assisted.

Jefferies was arraigned in Norwich City Court and remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility in lieu $10,000 cash bail, $20,000 bond.

He is to reappear in City Court at a later date. The investigation is continuing and additional charges are possible.

Norwich Police Chief Rodney Marsh said, “With the dangerous and reckless way Jefferies attempted to evade the police, we are very fortunate that no one was injured.”