Photo: Getty Images
DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office says they have arrested a man after he ran away from police.
Incident reports say Juan Carlos Velazquez, 18, has been charged with failure to stop for blue lights, a weapons violation, possession of drug paraphernalia and drug/paraphernalia violations.
Deputies say the incident first began when two deputies on routine patrol along Ashley Phosphate Road heard gunshots at around 11:19 p.m. Saturday coming from Stratton Drive near the Windsor Hill area.
At the end of Stratton Drive, deputies say they saw a truck that noticed law enforcement and immediately made an evasive turn onto a side road near the back of the neighborhood. Deputies stopped the truck and they say they began conducting an investigative stop.
Deputies say the car was a 2018 Chevy Silverado, that smelled strongly of cologne and marijuana. Deputies say they asked Velazquez, the driver, if there were any guns in the truck and he said “no.”
Velazquez and two passengers were noticeably nervous and deputies say they saw a clear plastic bag with a white substance in a coin tray.
When deputies and Velazquez both looked at the bag at the same time, incident reports say Velazquez sped off almost hitting the deputy and their patrol car.
Incident reports say Velazquez tried to elude deputies by turning off its lights, and deputies saw objects being thrown from the window of the truck. A few minutes later, deputies say Velazquez had hit another vehicle and flipped the truck after connecting with a pole.
Deputies say they detained Velazquez and the two passengers, and discovered the object thrown from the car was an AR-15 pistol with a30-round magazine containing 25 live bullets.
Additionally incident reports say deputies also found a blue backpack with two pill containers that had 24 pink pills and 7 white pills further down Dorchester Road.
At the crash deputies say they found a black cellphone and a digital scale.
Incident reports say Velazquez was placed under arrest and transported to Trident Medical Center for treatment and then booked into the Dorchester County Detention Center.
The two other passengers were released and taken to the hospital for treatment, while the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office says the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office responded to complete a collision report.
Incident reports say the driver of the vehicle that crashed into Velazquez had minor injuries and was transported to the hospital by his mother. Deputies say that the driver did not have a license when Velazquez and he collided so the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office towed both vehicles.
Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.