FOLLOW UP STORY
It was about 1:05 AM Wednesday that Danville Police were notified that a Flock Safety camera, one of the eventually 30 or so cameras the City Council has approved for around the city to help fight crime, picked up the license number of a car, a 2007 Audi SUV, stolen from Indiana. Danville Police had the information within minutes, and had located the car, trying to get the driver to stop. Deputy Chief Josh Webb says, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to work.
AUDIO: Yep, that’s what they were designed for and that’s why we got it. So it worked just like it was supposed to. Yes, my understanding with the technology is that as long as it’s all funcationing properly, all of that stuff happens within minutes.
The driver refused to stop, however, and the car was pursued all the way to Covington, Indiana, when it crashed in the 24-hundred block of Salem Church Road. All three occupants ran into a wooded area, and 20 year old Malik Merriweather of Centralia was arrested. The two others are at large. Since the car was stolen from Indiana, and the chase concluded in Indiana, Indiana authorities are now in charge of this case.
THE FOLLOWING IS A DANVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT RELEASE
On 02/16/22, around 1:05 am Danville Police received a notification from a Flock Safety camera system that a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Indiana had entered the Danville City limits and was last seen in the area of Griffin St and Williams St. Officers began checking the area for the vehicle and around 1:10 am Danville Police located the vehicle in the area of Fairchild St and Fowler Ave. Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the 2007 Audi SUV and the driver of the vehicle refused to stop and a vehicle pursuit was initiated. The pursuit proceeded to E. Main St where the vehicle traveled east bound and left the City of Danville and continued to Covington, IN.
During the pursuit, the driver of the stolen Audi lost control of the vehicle and crashed in the area of the 2400 block of Salem Church Rd in Covington, IN. After crashing the vehicle, the driver and two other occupants fled from the vehicle on foot and ran into a wooded area. Danville Police were assisted by the Covington Police Department and the Fountain County Sheriff’s Department as they searched for the suspects. During a search of the wooded area officers located 20 year old Malik J. Merriweather of Centralia, IL. Merriweather was taken into custody for possession of a stolen vehicle and is currently in custody in Fountain County, IN. Officers searched the area for the remaining two occupants but were unable to locate them. The remaining suspects are described as two male black men who were last seen wearing dark colored clothing. No injuries were reported during this incident.
No booking photo is available for Merriweather.
The investigation into this incident continues and no other information is being released at this time.
Anyone who has information regarding this incident is asked to call Danville Police at (217) 431-2250. Or you can call Vermilion County Crime Stoppers at (217) 446-TIPS
