23-year-old charged following car chase with deputy

A 23-year-old Birmingham man has been charged with first degree receiving stolen property following a car chase that occurred early Wednesday morning.

Tracy O’Neal Jones was the passenger in a stolen 2001 Lincoln Navigator that fled from a Shelby County Sheriff’s deputy on June 22, according to a sheriff’s office press release. The vehicle was driven by 20-year-old Isaiah Core III of Trussville, who was shot and killed by a deputy after making “a life-threatening attempt to injure officers with the vehicle he was driving,” according to the release.

The pursuit started around 2:30 a.m. along U.S. 280. A Shelby County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling an apartment complex where vehicle burglaries and break-ins had been reported, when he noticed a suspicious vehicle, according to the release.

The deputy reportedly noticed a suspicious vehicle, later identified as the Navigator driven by Cole. The vehicle pulled out onto U.S. 280 and began driving erratically, according to the report. When the deputy attempted to pull Cole over, he reportedly took off at a high speed.

The pursuit ended after Cole exited I-20 at Oporto Boulevard South in Birmingham. Cole was shot and taken to UAB Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 3:15 a.m. Jones was not injured and was taken to the sheriff’s office for questioning. He was not arrested on the scene, according to a release from Wednesday afternoon.

The Navigator had been reported stolen in Birmingham and had a switched license plate displayed, according to the release, and this resulted in the first degree receiving stolen property charge against Jones.

A stolen handgun was also found in the vehicle, according to the report, and investigators are looking to see if it is connected to burglaries and break-ins that were reported later Wednesday morning.

Jones was booked at Shelby County Jail on June 22, according to the sheriff’s office inmate listing, and is being held on $15,000 bond.