Taylorsville Man’s Trial For Leading Officers On High-Speed Chase Heads Into Second Week

Testimony in the trial of a Taylorsville man charged with allegedly leading law enforcement on a wild high-speed chase continues this week in Alexander County Superior Court.

Tony Timothy Martin, age 38, was arrested by the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office on December 17th, 2021. Around 2:30 am, a speeding Ford Explorer was spotted in Taylorsville. Officers attempted to stop the car as it increased speed and ran a red light on US-64/90. Alexander County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Taylorsville Police activated blue lights and sirens as the suspect approached speeds of 100 miles per hour traveling west.

Martin is reported to have continued onto NC Highway 127. Officers deployed stop-sticks as he turned onto Antioch Church Road in the Ellendale Community of Western Alexander County. The suspect stopped near the Antioch Baptist Church. Martin left his vehicle and aggressively approached the deputy leading to the use of a taser. The suspect was wearing a heavy trench-style coat that absorbed the shock from the taser.

Martin jumped into a Sheriff’s Office cruiser and rammed it into another which was occupied by a Deputy. The suspect tried to leave the scene as an Officer fired multiple shots at the car. The patrol vehicle was struck multiple times but the Martin was not wounded. One deputy sustained a cut when his cruiser was struck. He was treated and released from a Hickory hospital.

After ramming the patrol cruiser the suspect fled on foot into a graveyard where he was chased down by officers and taken into custody.

Then Sheriff Chris Bowman said “I’m so thankful that there were no real serious injuries, the deputy is going to be OK, it could have been bad.” Bowman said the Officer “fired shots due to his concern the suspect might be able to get a weapon from the stolen cruiser”.

Martin is being tried on charges that include

Felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to inflict serious bodily injury
Felony assault on a law enforcement with a deadly weapon
Felony larceny of a motor vehicle
Felony flee to elude arrest with a motor vehicle
Vandalism with damage to personal property
Resisting arrest
Multiple traffic related offenses and a Caldwell County charge of failure to pay child support

Martin has remained in custody since the incident.

The trial will resume this week in Taylorsville.

Photo: Alexander County Sheriff’s Office