THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 30, 1995 TAG: 9509300276
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
A police officer shot a man in an apartment complex during a pursuit early Friday that ended with a foot race through a residential neighborhood.
The wounded man, 19-year-old Joseph Pierce of Cedar Lane in Newport News, was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center where he was listed in guarded condition Friday afternoon.
Pierce was shot when he attempted to scale a fence at the Riverland Apartments at 6010 Jefferson Ave., police said. Pierce and another man were trying to get away from police officer B.S. Mizelle.
Patricia L. Mahaffy, spokeswoman for the Newport News Police Department, described the events leading up to the shooting this way:
About 3:15 a.m., police attempted to stop a white Chevrolet for an equipment violation on Jefferson Avenue near 79th Street. The car was driven by Pierce.
Pierce refused to stop and drove to the Riverland Apartments at 6010 Jefferson Ave. At a dead end, Pierce and a passenger left their vehicle and ran toward a fence line in the apartment complex. The passenger scaled the fence and Pierce was scaling the fence when Mizelle shot him.
Despite his injury, Pierce managed to get over the fence. He and the passenger ran two more blocks to the backyard of a home in the 600 block of 72nd Street. A nearby resident called police and reported that the suspect was in a neighbor's yard.
Upon arrival, police apprehended both suspects.
Officers found a handgun inside the Chevrolet and five rocks of crack cocaine on Pierce.
Pierce was charged with possession of cocaine, two weapons violations, assault and battery of a police officer, reckless driving, evading and eluding police, driving without taillights and driving with a suspended license.
The passenger, who was not identified Friday by police, was not charged.
Mizelle was placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation of the case.
KEYWORDS: NEWPORT NEWS POLICE DEPARTMENT ARREST COCAINE SHOOTING by CNB