A Sumter man has been charged with DUI and a number of other offenses following a 20-minute police chase that resulted in his arrest. The police chase and the consequent arrest took place this Saturday.
According to troopers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Christopher Mickens of Sumter was stopped by a trooper at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The trooper tried to stop Mickens on I-95 in the Florence County. However, instead of halting as per the trooper’s instructions, Mickens fled the site. This led to a police chase that took the pursuing authorities across two counties.
Mickens drove from the Florence County to the Marion County after fleeing the traffic stop. It took the police another 20 minutes to intercept and stop Mickens. The arrest took place on the Main Street in Marion.
After being arrested, Mickens was charged with a number of offenses. He also hit and damaged a number of vehicles during his pursuit by the police. Some of the victims have now come forward and voiced their concerns on the crashes.
The charges brought against Mickens so far include DUI, unlawful firearm possession, driving without a license, failure to stop at a blue light and possession of marijuana. Many of these are serious offenses and carry stiff penalties in the state of South Carolina. Others carry relatively mild penalties.
The penalty for unlawful firearm possession is up to one year in jail, being a misdemeanor. For driving without a license, Mickens may face an imprisonment of 1 month and a fine of $50 to $100. Failure to stop for a blue light is a more serious offense and can earn a prison term of up to 3 years. Similarly, a first DUI offense will result in a sentence of 2 days to 30 days, depending on the blood alcohol concentration.
If you need help with a DUI case, contact our dedicated DUI lawyers for help.
Source: https://wpde.com/news/local/sumter-man-faces-charges-after-weekend-chase-ending-in-downtown-marion
