By CAROLINE CARMICHAEL / Staff Writer

James Marquise Worthey, 31, is facing 17 charges after a long and arduous pursuit on Feb. 4.

Worthey is charged with multiple traffic offenses, trafficking methamphetamine, open container of alcohol in a vehicle, failure to register vehicle, attempting to elude law enforcement, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a juvenile who was present in the vehicle.

The incident began around 4:15 p.m. on Alabama Highway 22 near County Road 228 when Deputy Edwin Freeman of the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office noted no tag or registration visible for the 1999 Buick Century, according to Assistant Chief Deputy Shane Mayfield.

Freeman attempted to stop the vehicle, but the suspect refused to yield. A vehicle pursuit ensued for several miles, Mayfield said.

The chase concluded at the end of County Road 105 in the Campbell Settlement Community.

When ordered from the car, the driver threw over 100 grams of methamphetamine in the deputy’s face and fled on foot for approximately 200 yards before he was apprehended in a cow pasture, according to Mayfield.

“Deputies recovered approximately 113 grams of methamphetamine from the floorboard of the vehicle and the ground adjacent to the vehicle,” Mayfield said.

Worthey is in custody at the Chilton County Jail, with about $95,000 accumulated in bonds.