Officials arrest 2 people accused in multi-county police chase

Published 5:50 pm Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Officials have identified two of the three people who were involved in a multi-county, high-speed chase ended in Smith County on Monday morning.

Three people were detained and one was hospitalized after the pursuit, during which passengers allegedly fired gunshots toward law enforcement from stolen cars, according to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.

Bykearean Javar Green, 26, of Dallas, has been arrested in connection with the chase. He is charged with evading arrest with a vehicle. He is being held in the Smith County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

A 16-year-old was also arrested Tuesday in connection with the chase, according to CBS19.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Larry Christian said the chase began when Harrison County deputies pursued a car on Interstate 20 reported stolen from Mississippi. The chase continued through Gregg County before officers took over in Smith County around 9 a.m. with assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.

“We continued the chase, and sometime during the chase, shots were fired from the suspect vehicle at deputies,” Christian said.

DPS Sgt. Adam Albritton told our news partners at CBS19 the exchange of gunfire was between the suspect vehicle and the Smith County Pct. 5 Constable’s Office while the chase was in the Lindale area.

Lindale police were notified when the vehicle headed down Jim Hogg Road toward Lindale but then returned to U.S. 69 and back to I-20 heading westbound, Christian said. The vehicle continued west on I-20 and eventually went off the road and rolled over west of the weigh station before the Van Zandt County line.

“Law enforcement was right there — deputies, DPS — they were able to get on them quick. They rendered aid and detained three subjects,” Christian said.

One subject was taken to a local hospital for injuries. Albritton said one of the three people in the vehicle had a gunshot to their leg. It’s unknown if the wound was self-inflicted or caused by an officer because there were guns inside the vehicle.

The Texas Rangers are investigating the officer-involved shooting, while the Smith County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shots fired at the deputies.