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Officer shoots two people at end of 7-mile chase
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BATON ROUGE - Two people were shot by an officer at the end of a seven-mile chase that ran from Chippewa Street to a neighborhood off College Drive.
State Police said the Department of Public Safety Capitol Detail officers tried to stop a white Suburban on Chippewa near Daisy Avenue after a traffic violation around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. After traveling along Interstate 110 and I-10, the vehicle exited at College Drive and ran into a neighborhood off Bawell Street around 8:45 p.m.
State Police said the driver, 33-year-old Tyler Pugh, crashed into an officer's unit and then accelerated toward the officer before shots were fired.
State Police said two of the three people in the vehicle were hit by gunfire, including Pugh. After he was treated for minor injuries, he was booked into Parish Prison. The other shooting victim was taken from the scene in serious condition and is still in a hospital. The third passenger was uninjured.
LSP said the officer was placed on administrative leave. Additional charges for Pugh and the two passengers are pending.
Court documents show that Pugh has been arrested more than a dozen times in East Baton Rouge Parish. In 2022, he was indicted on four charges for selling drugs and pleaded guilty to one. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, which were suspended, and put on three years of active probation by Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts.
Three months later, on May 19, a bench warrant was filed when Pugh didn't show up for court. On May 29, he was accused of shooting a woman in the stomach and hitting a car with gunfire. Pugh was arrested the following day for illegal use of weapons and aggravated criminal damage to property. He bonded out June 19, 2023, in Judge Tarvald Smith's court and was ordered to sign up for an ankle monitoring service.
Pugh's probation officer from the drug conviction asked the court twice to place Pugh back into custody — once in September 2023 and again in February 2024. Documents filed said the new arrest violated the terms of his probation, which included staying arrest or conviction-free. A probation revocation hearing was held and a bench warrant was filed.
Court minutes show that Pugh made all his court dates related to the shooting arrest. The ankle monitoring company, Criminal Tracking Service LLC., said that Pugh was keeping his bracelet charged. Most recently, Pugh was in court on Aug. 22 for a motion hearing and was set to appear again on Nov. 19.
State Police said Pugh was booked and arrested for outstanding warrants. Documents say that warrant was connected to failing to appear in Judge Foxworth-Roberts' court.
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