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Published Friday, May 15, 2009 in Local

Photo by Jeffrey Leo

Georgia State Patrol officers walk down the CSX railroad tracks from the Sprayberry Road crossing Thursday evening to assist in searching for the suspect who ran from police. He drove down the tracks until the back tires were shredded and the vehicle became stuck.

'Extremely intoxicated' suspect faces a 'laundry list of charges'

By Elizabeth Richardson

The Times-Herald

An "extremely intoxicated" Sharpsburg man led local law enforcement on a several-hour chase Thursday evening in Newnan.

The incident started as a domestic dispute after the suspect decided he wanted to turn himself in to law enforcement for a probation issue.

John Ballard, 43, of 34 Peachtree Lake Drive in Sharpsburg, was taken into police custody Thursday evening and now faces "a laundry list of charges and at least one felony," according to Detective Reginald Wimbush of the Newnan Police Department.

Concerned onlookers noticed a man and a woman fighting in a vehicle parked at a business on Bullsboro Drive at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Coweta Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Kennedy was in the area when the call was dispatched to police. He noticed a silver Mercury Mountaineer pulled on the shoulder of Bullsboro Drive behind a car with a female driver. Kennedy observed the male driver of the Mercury SUV -- later identified as Ballard -- getting into his vehicle and pulling away.

Ballard started east on Bullsboro and then U-turned at the Shenandoah Plaza shopping center and headed west toward downtown Newnan. Kennedy pursued the vehicle as it turned right onto Greison Trail. At that point, Kennedy initiated blue lights and attempted to stop the vehicle.

Ballard continued driving and turned east onto Jefferson Street, at which point Kennedy initiated his siren.

"I thought he was pulling over and then he took a left onto Sprayberry Road, and I knew at that time he was running because he pulled out in front of two cars and then passed the car that had just turned in front of him."

Ballard reportedly tried to speed up to flee, but traffic was heavy and so he pulled off the road onto a gravel driveway between McBride Street and the railroad tracks. When the gravel driveway ran out, Ballard ran his SUV onto the railroad tracks and momentarily got the passenger side back tire caught on the outside rail, according to Kennedy.

Ballard "floored it" and continued sideways in his vehicle about a quarter mile up the tracks sending rocks and debris everywhere. When the right tire was completely shredded and the axle got stuck on the outside rail, Ballard exited his vehicle and walked into the nearby woods.

Kennedy waited for another unit to arrive on the scene, and then officers set up a perimeter and checked Ballard's vehicle for weapons. A Coweta search dog unit assisted and located Ballard's flip-flops in the wooded area.

A little more than an hour later, a caller notified Coweta 911 that Ballard had been spotted walking on Hillwood Circle off Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard. At 8:38 p.m., a trooper with the Georgia State Patrol took Ballard into custody near Coweta Equipment Rental on Millard Farmer, according to Kennedy.

"It was definitely a team effort," said Kennedy.

Wimbush said there was some evidence of physical abuse inflicted on the female victim, although she refused medical treatment. The argument between the two reportedly began after Ballard decided he wanted to go to the Coweta probation office to turn himself in on "probation issues."

Among the charges Ballard could face are driving under the influence, fleeing and attempting to elude and driving with a suspended license.