A two-week long search for a Cornelia man who fled from police is over and it ended the same way it began, with a police chase.
30-year old Steven Anthony Bass was arrested on Monday after a pre-dawn chase through the southeastern part of Habersham County.
Habersham County Sheriff’s Lt. Matthew Wurtz says the chase began when a deputy attempted to pull over a vehicle for speeding on GA 365 near Cody Road.
“The pursuit traveled through the city of Mt Airy and entered the City of Cornelia where Cornelia Police Department Officers deployed Stop Sticks,” says Wurtz in a press release. “The vehicle continued on South Main St, Cornelia, Georgia and came to rest in front of the Apple Tree Inn.”
The driver, later identified as Bass, was taken into custody without further incident.
Wurtz says Bass attempted to run into the deputy’s patrol car during the chase, damaging both it and the Chrysler 4-door Bass was driving.
It’s not the first time he’s done that, according to authorities. They say Bass ran into a patrol car during another police chase on January 2. In that incident, Bass was driving a black Dodge Ram pickup truck that struck a Habersham County Sheriff’s patrol car during a chase on Main Street and Old Cornelia Road. The pursuit ended on Hoyt street when the truck struck a building and both occupants fled.
The passenger in the pickup, 29-year old Heather Cornelius of Clarkesville, was arrested that night and jailed. She’s charged with two counts of burglary, giving false information to law enforcement, obstruction of an officer and, possession of a firearm/weapon during the commission of a felony.
Bass is now in the Habersham County jail on charges stemming from both incidents. The list of charges against him include: Obstruction of an Officer, Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, DUI, Forgery, Possession of Marijuana less than 1 oz, Possession of Drug Related Items and multiple traffic offenses.
Arrest records show Bass was previously jailed in September 2016 on drug charges.
