A Cleveland man was arrested after he led a Hall County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputy on a short vehicle chase in the Lula area just before 11 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
As the deputy was patrolling the parking lot of a convenience store at the intersection of Cornelia Highway and Lula Road, he noticed the suspect parked at the side of the business. The deputy checked the vehicle tag and found the tag was suspended, and there was no valid insurance for the vehicle. The deputy followed the vehicle as it left the parking lot and stopped the driver in the parking lot of the Dollar General across the highway.
The driver, later identified as Tyler Benton House, 37, of Cleveland, presented a Georgia driver’s license with someone else’s photo. The deputy ordered the suspect to exit the vehicle, but House instead drove through some hedges on the property, across the grass on the side of the highway, and then onto southbound Cornelia Highway.
The deputy pursued House until the suspect made a U-turn to travel northbound on the highway. The deputy performed a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle. House attempted to run from the scene but was caught by the deputy and arrested, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office says.
During the subsequent investigation, authorities learned that the vehicle House was driving had been stolen from a location in White County. House was also found in possession of a handgun, three grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.
House faces a list of charges, including the following felonies:
- Theft by receiving stolen property
- Forgery in the first degree
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Possession of methamphetamine
He was also charged with 13 misdemeanor offenses related to the traffic stop and subsequent police pursuit.
Additional charges are possible in this case.
