A suspected meth dealer who was on the run from Louisiana fled Pike County authorities Thursday by driving down railroad tracks and holding up in some woods before an hours-long manhunt ended with his capture.
Terence O’Neal Brewer, 28, 12607 State Line Road, Kentwood, La., was wanted in Louisiana after he failed to report to probation officers in Tangipahoa Parish. That resulted in a felony simple escape charge in addition to a charge of distribution of methamphetamine.
Louisiana authorities were looking for Brewer in the Kentwood area and received word that he may be in Pike County.
They released a photo and a description of his stepfather’s Dodge Ram pickup, which he was believed to be using without permission.
“When our guy spotted him, that’s when he started to run and he turned down the railroad tracks and wrecked his vehicle,” Pike County Chief Deputy Brad Bellipanni said.
Deputies told Bellipanni that Brewer made the turn from Fernwood Road onto the tracks at about 50 mph and traveled south down the northbound tracks for about 100 yards before his vehicle became inoperable. The tracks shredded the undercarriage of the truck, including shearing its tie rods, which meant Brewer could no longer steer the vehicle.
Brewer ran into some woods, and a heavy police presence descended on the area, with officers from McComb, Magnolia and the Mississippi Department of Corrections, as well as wildlife officers and a dog team from a prison in Angie, La., joining the chase.
Dogs tracked his scent to a road, and officers initially suspected someone might have picked Brewer up, but he apparently retraced his steps and hid out in the woods.
“He doubled back and threw off the dogs. I believe he waited in the woods somewhere,” Bellipanni said.
A new shift of deputies arrived on the scene Thursday evening, returned to the woods and spotted Brewer, who was unarmed and arrested without incident before 7 p.m. near Woodrow Road in Magnolia, ending a 10-hour chase.
“I would like to thank the agencies that helped us,” Bellipanni said. “Without that collaborative effort and all of us working together, he’d probably still be out running the roads.”
Bellipanni noted that it was another case of people from other areas causing trouble in Pike County.
“People come to Pike County from other areas and create issues that we have to deal with,” Bellipanni said.
In March, a man suspected in a Brookhaven-area homicide ran to Pike County, triggering a massive manhunt near Southwest Mississippi Community College that involved helicopters, track dogs and infrared drones, resulting in his capture.
