SLIDELL, La. — A busy day at Fremaux Town Center in Slidell Thursday evening ended with a police chase, damaged cop cars, and three people in jail.
“It was a lot of cops,” said Slidell Police Department public information officer Daniel Seuzeneau. “There was a lot.”
Seuzeneau says it all started when officers from Hancock County, Mississippi started chasing a stolen car. With the chase crossing into Louisiana, Slidell officers posted up at all the exit ramps and twin spans.
“We have a very busy interchange here in Slidell with the I-59, I-10, I-12 interchange so we deal with this kind of stuff all the time,” said Seuzeneau
The driver of the stolen car, 21-year-old Mathias Newell of Marrero, got off I-10 at the Fremaux Avenue exit, leading officers on a chase through the shopping center.
"They passed right in front of me and there was another car trying to get out of the way and as he's coming around the corner, he hit the back of the other car,” said Lacy Quincy who watched it happen.
Quincy says police cars started swarming the area.
"I couldn’t process it at first and then once I realized what was going on, I told my five-year-old, ‘look down’ because it was just so much and I was scared for her to see something that she shouldn't have seen,” said Quincy.
Twice, officers were able to stop the car, but Seuzeneau says Newell rammed their patrol cars to getaway.
“That obviously escalated this to a much bigger level than just a normal vehicle pursuit when you start ramming police vehicles,” said Seuzeneau.
Newell eventually gave up when he got to Old Spanish Trail. He, along with passengers 18-year-old Bailey Weaver and 30-year-old Brandon Duke, both from Alabama, was arrested without incident.
“These guys are obviously from out of town right, so they came to the wrong city when they drove into Slidell,” said Seuzeneau.
Luckily no one was hurt and Seuzeneau said the chase coming to an end in Slidell doesn’t mean a lack of safety in the city, but rather the opposite.
“This obviously came from a totally different state. It just happened to spill into our city,” said Seuzeneau.
All three suspects face stolen property and drug charges. Newell, the driver, has a much longer list, including two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer with a motor vehicle.
“Our judges and prosecutors here in St. Tammany Parish will ensure that they receive jail time for this incident,” said Seuzeneau.