Two men, including one convicted felon, are in police custody after what started as a call to assist an injured person led to a police chase.
At about 2 p.m. Tuesday, officers with the Greenville Police Department were dispatched to the 1000 block of North Broadway Street in reference to a disturbance.
Assistant Police Chief Michael Merchant said a local resident called and reported a “suspicious person in the area bleeding.”
That person was identified by police as 28-year-old Tony Phillips, who Merchant said appeared to have “some sort of injury.”
As officers called for medical assistance to treat Phillips and were investigating the situation, Merchant said a person driving an SUV drove toward them and began speaking to police.
“While officers were talking to the driver of the SUV, later identified as Cornelius Harris, they noticed a large quantity of narcotics inside the vehicle,” he said.
When officers asked Harris, 31, to step out of the vehicle, he drove off, leading officers on a pursuit throughout the city that ended near Inez Street, where Harris exited the vehicle and began to run on foot. Merchant said he was caught by officers shortly after during the foot pursuit.
After Harris was arrested and taken to the Greenville Police Department for processing, officers also found Phillips had been in possession of a firearm and is a convicted felon.
“Based on the investigation, it appears a narcotics transaction had occurred prior to the police being called,” Merchant said.
Phillips was treated at Delta Regional Medical Center for minor injures and was later released from the hospital.
Phillips has been charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and was given a $10,000 bond. Harris has been charged with Felony Fleeing and Possession of a Controlled Substance and was given a $175,000 bond. Both men are still in custody.
If anyone has any information about this incident, they are asked to call the Greenville Police Department at 662-378-1515 or Crimestoppers at 662-378-8477, or they can use the P3 Tips app.
