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Gadsden County Sheriff Morris A. Young and Gretna Police Department Police Chief Furman Richardson arrests second suspect after Chief Richardson tackles the suspect who was involved in the shooting in Chattahoochee, FL after a lengthy vehicle and foot chase. Photo and article are compliments of Byron Spires, Havana Herald Editor.

Monday started out as a routine day, that is until several young men in Chattahoochee decided to participate in a drive-by shooting. Sheriff Morris Young was sitting in his office discussing the recent raises he was able to give his employees. The call came in around 12:30 P.M. Shots had been fired in Chattahoochee and the suspects had sped away after a Chattahoochee police officer approached them, the caller on the other end of the phone explained to Sheriff Young. No one was reported hurt when the shots were fired. A chase that started on the south side of Chattahoochee had worked its way to the Sycamore/Juniper area. Sheriff Young hung the phone up and calmly stated that his officers were chasing several suspects, now on foot in the Juniper area. Sheriff Young asked if I would like to ride along. I took him up on his offer. In a couple of minutes we were on our way to the south side of Greensboro. Five young men, two of which were under 18 years of age, had bolted from the car at a house just off Juniper Road. The car, a late model Lexus, had a single bullet hole in the rear quarter panel on the driver's side. A suspect was cornered a few minutes later on Pine Grove Road by Gadsden County's canine officer, Corporal Billy Buckhalt, and Florida Highway Patrol officers. On the scene in the manhunt were Gadsden County deputies, Florida Highway Patrol officers, Greensboro officers, a Florida Wildlife Commission K-9 unit and Gretna officers. Officers from the Apalachee Correctional Institute's canine unit reached the scene shortly after Sheriff Young. The Florida Highway Patrol's observation plane was soon flying in circles over the area where the suspects were believed to be hiding. Later in the afternoon Liberty County Sheriff's Department officers would also be present. A perimeter had been set up around the area where the suspects were thought to be located. Sheriff Young cruised between the cars covering the perimeter.

Several times over the next 30 minutes Sheriff Young checked roads along the perimeter for any activity. A gun shot was heard near the curve at Juniper Creek and Sheriff Young headed in that direction. Also headed in that direction was Gretna Police Chief Ferman Richardson, riding with GCSD deputy Calvin Carter. One of the suspects was spotted by Carter and Richardson at the back of a yard headed for Juniper Road. Sheriff Young raced his vehicle forward to try and cut the suspect off as Richardson bailed out of Carter's car to chase the suspect on foot. Both Carter and Richardson were soon chasing the suspect on foot as he darted in and out of the woods. Several times during the foot chase the suspect was asked to stop. Sheriff Young placed his vehicle in the suspect's way and jumped out to stop him. As the suspect ran across the ditch trying to avoid Sheriff Young, Richardson made a flying tackle and brought the suspect down, holding him at gun point. Sheriff Young and Carter were only a few steps away and the three men soon had the suspect handcuffed. Number two had been apprehended.

While Sheriff Young, Carter and Richardson were apprehending their quarry, GCSD deputy Matt Rowan and three Apalachee Correctional Institute (ACI) officers with their bloodhound, Man, had entered the woods to the east of Juniper Road on the trail of another suspect. For the next three hours the radio crackled as Rowan gave officers the direction he was heading. The perimeter of officers soon moved closer as Rowan closed in on the suspect. The suspect was sighted down a dirt road off State Road 12 by a resident. At this point, Rowan, the ACI officers and Man were closing in. The suspect, still deep in the woods, traveled parallel to State Road 12 with Rowan and his fellow officers hot on his trail. After chasing him through heavy underbrush and a swampy marsh for nearly three hours they were able to apprehend him.

The suspect was brought out of the woods across the highway from the old Juniper Liquor Store building. Sheriff Young called the search off at 6:30 P.M. with two suspects still on the loose. The two remaining suspects are juveniles. Their names are being withheld at this point. There is an ongoing investigation into the shooting incident and at this writing there are still several issues unanswered. Sheriff Young said that his department would continue an extensive search for the two juveniles. If you have any information concerning the shooting incident or the subsequent pursuit, Sheriff Young asks that you contact the Gadsden County Sheriff's Department at 850-627-9233.