Man who led Columbia police on 100-mph chase to serve five years in prison
A man who led Columbia officers on a high-speed chase will serve more than five years in prison.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, court evidence showed that 40-year-old Columbia resident Tron Martelle Harrison was stopped by Columbia police officers Oct. 27, 2023.
“While speaking to the officer, Harrison ate two multicolored pills that were sitting on the center console,” the release states. “When the officer asked if he just consumed MDMA, Harrison nodded in agreement before spitting out one of them.
“Instead of complying with the officer’s order to turn the car off, Harrison put it in gear and sped away,” the release continues. “CPD officers chased Harrison’s vehicle for more than nine miles at speeds exceeding 100mph before Harrison finally stopped after almost flipping his vehicle. During the chase, an officer saw Harrison throw an object from his vehicle and notified other officers of the location. Officers eventually recovered a 9mm pistol from the exact location where the officer saw it being thrown.”
Harrison pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a firearm and was sentenced to 63 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, with the incarceration to be followed by three years of court-ordered supervision. There is no option for parole in the federal system.
“This sentence came after the Ggovernment made a motion for an upward variance based on the extremely reckless nature of the chase and the number of firearm-related offenses Harrison has been convicted of in recent years,” the release notes, detailing that Harrison was convicted of criminal conspiracy related to an armed robbery in 2011, misprision of a felony related to a murder in 2012, and once previously for unlawful possession of a firearm in 2016.
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