LAPLACE – Deputies in St. John Parish arrested a Reserve man in possession of a stolen car and under the influence of various drugs after a vehicle pursuit that crossed two parishes and endangered the lives of police officers in St. John and St. Charles Parishes, said a spokesman for the St. John Sheriff’s Office.
Maj. Mike Tregre, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said Charles Baham Jr., 18, 341 Chad B. Baker St., Reserve, was taken into custody around 9:20 a.m. Saturday in an area of thick brush between I-55 and US Hwy 51 near Ruddock. Trege said Baham jumped into Lake Pontchartrain and swam toward the woods in an attempt to escape capture after St. John deputies laid a spike strip across I-55 to stop his vehicle.
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While officers were obtaining information on the driver, Baham shifted his car in gear, stepped on the gas and spun the vehicle around to try and escape the scene. In the process, Baham struck the driver’s side door of one of the police units on the scene. Baham refused to exit his vehicle after several verbal commands from police and proceeded to head west on Airline Highway at a high rate of speed toward LaPlace.
Once in St. John, Tregre said Bayham turned north onto Hwy. 51 and merged onto I-55 before crashing into a St. John patrol car. Tregre said the wreck caused serious damage to the cruiser, but the officer was not injured.
Baham traveled several miles on I-55 before his vehicle was disabled by a spike strip that was laid down near the Ruddock exit. Deputies from St. John, St. Charles and Tangipahoa parishes pursued Baham in the wooded area with the help of a police K-9 unit. He was captured after a brief search of the area. Tregre said Baham admitted to deputies that he was under the influence of crack cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy and officers on the scene found a small amount of marijuana on the front seat of the stolen vehicle.
Tregre said Baham was taken to River Parishes Hospital for treatment before being booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace on charges of attempted murder of a police officer, possession of a stolen vehicle, felony injury of a police officer, aggravated flight from a police officer, reckless operation and hit and run. He is being detained at the jail on $149,000 bond. Baham also faces similar charges in St. Charles upon release from St. John.
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get your gun wrote on Nov 19, 2008 9:15 AM:
How about an update in this piece of s__
Our community absolutely needs a morale boost knowing at least some of this trash is being dealt with properly "
get real wrote on Nov 12, 2008 6:13 PM:
kenchristopher when he murdered an unarmed man? Is there no one willing to take up the cause of this criminal? "
im working wrote on Oct 24, 2008 12:25 PM:
he should be working and earning a living and paying taxes instead of breaking the law, stealing someone's property and costing taxpayers's to support him and prosecute him.
Society continues to encourage this type of behavior with too lenient laws, judges,and juries.
He figures;if OJ can get away with murder, we won't punish something as trivial as grand theft auto. "
told you so wrote on Oct 23, 2008 6:44 AM:
They should have brought him to the water and held him under to see how good a diver he is.
Now, it will cost the taxpayers to feed and house this trash until he is let out to do this and worse all over again. "
Randolph wrote on Oct 17, 2008 1:31 AM:
my sonn wrote on Sep 30, 2008 7:59 PM:
Amused wrote on Sep 27, 2008 11:31 PM:
Blaine wrote on Sep 24, 2008 2:38 PM:
2ATONCE wrote on Sep 24, 2008 9:47 AM:
confused wrote on Sep 23, 2008 5:06 PM: