61-year-old Ohio man leads police on low speed chase until his Mercury runs out of gas
Alliance, Ohio got its own low-budget Fast & Furious remake this weekend—only it was slower, older, and ran on fumes. A 61-year-old man led police on a “chase” in a Mercury Grand Marquis that often settled into lawnmower speeds. Spoiler: he was running on fumes and didn’t get far.
Public service announcement, courtesy of the Alliance PD
The pursuit began around 2 a.m., when officers stopped Jesse Singletery’s 1994 Mercury on West State Street. The car was swerving and crawling below the speed limit. When Lt. Matt Shatzer asked for a license and insurance, Singletery told him he had neither.
Things escalated when Shatzer said the car was getting towed. That’s when Singletery hit the gas—barely. According to the Alliance Police Department, “Jesse Singletery (age 61 of 1421 16th St, Canton) fled from Lt. Matt Shatzer during a traffic stop.”
The Ohio police chase sometimes got up to 74 mph, but also fell to 15 mph. Police officers blocked side streets while Singletery allegedly drove through a yard, tearing up someone’s landscaping. Eventually, he got out of town and onto Route 172.
That’s where the Mercury gave up. The car sputtered, coasted, and stopped. As police put it in their post, “After a 15-minute pursuit, the defendant ran out of gas on SR172 and was apprehended.”
This Ohio police chase was a low-speed pursuit with full-throttle stupidity
But even then, Singletery wasn’t done. Cops say he refused to exit the car, so they pepper-sprayed him. He was then pulled out and arrested by officers Shatzer, Vesco, and Rhome.
Alliance PD couldn’t resist a little shade. In their official statement, they wrote: “PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are going to make bad choices and run from the Alliance Police Department, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH GAS.”
The Ohio police chase ended with Singletery facing a full charge sheet: failure to comply, resisting arrest, obstructing official business, driving under suspension, reckless operation—you name it. Bad choices, worse execution, and a full tank of charges.