Just after midnight on August 14, 2022, three Neshoba County Deputies narrowly escaped serious injury when a White Ford Aspire accelerated as it drove through a safety checkpoint on County Road 410. Deputies pursued the vehicle down dirt roadways until the driver and passenger stopped in the roadway on Road 361 and fled into a wooded area. The passenger was arrested quickly, but deputies were unable to find the driver and who was identified as Johnny Hernandez.
For the next 16 days, Neshoba and Winston County Officers spent countless man hours in pursuit of Hernandez, who fled due to a Drug Court Warrant. Hernandez was previously convicted of felony fleeing in Circuit Court Neshoba and sentenced to Drug Court.
The most recent siting of Hernandez was Saturday night, when he fled into a wooded area in the Plattsburg area. Winston County used thermal imaging from a drone to help comb the area. Hernandez eluded the officers and escaped into the night.
On August 30, 2022, a Neshoba County Deputy was patrolling in the Sandtown Community in search of a green Ford Ranger. The vehicle was used to cash checks that had been stolen from a local business. A check had been cashed at The Citizens Bank earlier today, and a second check was attempted to be cashed, which led to the alert of the officers. Witnesses called in the description of the green Ford Ranger with the bed covered with a tarp. The Sheriff’s Deputy initiated a traffic stop on Highway 482 when he spotted the truck. A pursuit began as the truck fled at a high rate of speed. The truck turned onto Road 616 as it tried to get away from the officer. The chase quickly ended as the truck lost control after hitting potholes in the roadway. The driver left the roadway, destroying the landowner’s fence and eventually hitting a tree in the yard. The driver, Johnny Hernandez, fled the vehicle by jumping onto the hood of the patrol vehicle as he tried to run away. The deputy quickly gained control and took Hernandez into custody. Johnny Carmen Hernandez is currently being held in the Neshoba County Detention Center.
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