Police Briefs: East Ridge police officer hurt in crash

Friday, February 24, 2012

photo An East Ridge Police officer was injured in a car crash today while he chasing two theft suspects.
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East Ridge officer hurt in crash

An East Ridge police officer was injured in a car crash Thursday while chasing two theft suspects.

The pursuit began after a man and a woman were spotted stealing a generator from a construction site on McBrien Road, said police spokesman Officer Erik Hopkins.

Sky Douglas Bishop, 30, and Megan Brook Avens, 28, have been charged with aggravated burglary, theft over $1,000, aggravated assault, felony evading and felony reckless endangerment. Avens additionally has been charged with possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony.

At the construction site, the pair tried to hit a person with the Ford F-150 pickup truck they were driving, Hopkins said. The suspects then led officers on a high-speed chase that weaved through East Ridge and Chattanooga.

During the pursuit, Lt. Lynn Ford's car crashed with another vehicle at McBrien Road and South Terrace, Hopkins said. The other driver was not injured, he said.

Ford was taken to Erlanger hospital for evaluation, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Hopkins said.

Officers tracked the truck down to North Terrace and Germantown Road. Avens was taken into custody while Bishop fled, said Hopkins.

After a foot chase, Bishop was caught in a drainage ditch near Mayfair Avenue and Haney Drive, Hopkins said. Chattanooga police are investigating the car crash, said Hopkins.

Teen found dead in Knoxville

A Chattanooga teenager, 18-year-old Jevon Montrel Sturdivant, was found shot to death in Knoxville on Wednesday afternoon.

Someone called 911 after seeing the body in an alley near Ashland Avenue and Andes Street, a Knoxville police spokesman said.

The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy. Officials believe the death is suspicious, the news release said.