A Cayuga County man drove through a garage door with a snowplow and struck a police car before being taken into custody on multiple charges last week.
Justin T. Jones, 39, of Ledyard, was arrested by the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and New York State Board of Parole on Dec. 19 after a standoff at a residence on Levanna Road, the sheriff's office said in a news release Tuesday. Officers had a parole absconder warrant for Jones and an indictment warrant for aggravated criminal contempt due to him allegedly violating an order of protection in August.
Upon arriving at the residence, officers learned Jones was inside a garage there. He did not respond to requests to step outside, leading deputies to deploy a K-9. Jones then said he would comply, but as officers approached a door to the garage, they saw him sitting inside a pickup with a snowplow. He then resumed refusing to comply, started the truck and began ramming into the closed garage door.
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At that time officers began deploying less lethal munitions to subdue Jones, the sheriff's office said, but he was able to break through the door with the pickup. More less lethal munitions and a Taser were deployed, but not effective. Jones fled the scene in the truck, striking a patrol car with the snowplow and damaging it. He then drove a short distance, entered a field and got stuck trying to reach a wooded part of the property. He continued fleeing on foot into an area with heavy brush, but the sheriff's office used its drone unit to locate him and take him into custody without further incident.
A white substance later confirmed to be methamphetamine was found on Jones by officers, the sheriff's office said. He was transported to Upstate University Hospital by LifeNet helicopter due to concerns about injuries he sustained during the incident, as he appeared to have fallen from a tree stand he tried to climb while fleeing. Parole officers maintained custody of him until he was released.
Jones was brought to the Cayuga County Jail and processed on his indictment warrant as well as second-degree criminal mischief, a Class D felony, and the Class A misdemeanors of second-degree obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was remanded without bail at the county's CAP court on Monday.