Multi-county police car chase leads to two drug arrests

ALBEMARLE — On the morning of Aug. 11, two people were taken into custody, and a Cabarrus County deputy was hurt following a stolen car chase across three counties that ended in Albemarle in a ditch on Concord Rd. 

Joekeem Shamar Neal, 25, of Kannapolis, is in jail on a secure bond of $520,000 and facing an assault charge with a deadly weapon on a government official, resisting a public officer, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, trafficking in heroin, possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a schedule I controlled substance, felony flee to elude arrest, and failure to heed blue lights and siren. 

Neal’s accomplice and passenger of the vehicle, Tyravia Akeise Angle, of Salisbury, has been charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver schedule I controlled substance; trafficking in heroin; maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of selling a controlled substance; felony flee to elude arrest; and possession of drug paraphernalia. On Aug. 12, she was bailed out on a $300,000 bond, per the Sheriff’s Office.  

The police chase began in Charlotte with a reported stolen vehicle as Mecklenburg County officers were alerted to the crime.  

In Harrisburg, a Cabarrus County deputy’s patrol car that joined the chase crashed into a tree on Rocky River Rd; the deputy was soon taken to a hospital with minor injuries, but he is expected to be okay. Authorities have reported that Neal was hitting speeds as high as 100 miles an hour throughout Mount Pleasant.  

Once the police chase entered Stanly County, the county sheriff’s office deployed stop sticks to stop the vehicle, which swerved to dodge the blockade, collided with a Stanly County Sheriff’s Office cruiser, and ultimately flipped upside down. There were no injuries in the collision.  

Following the arrest, officers found 26 grams of heroin in the overturned vehicle. 

In April, 2019, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office charged Neal for possession with the intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance (marijuana), possession of marijuana paraphernalia, and littering; he was placed under a $25,000 bond. In February 2020, Neal was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office for stolen firearm charges. 

Earlier this past June, Neal was charged in Mecklenburg County for driving with a revoked license.