UPDATE 10:30 AM MONDAY: Two Detroit men who were in a vehicle crash Thursday night and who may also have been involved in two shootings the same day now face charges, according to a Knoxville Police Department spokesman.
The men are identified as Larry Bell, 26, and Verdell Lovett, 24. At least one has a drug trafficking arrest history. Detroit is a prime source of heroin in the East Tennessee area.
Bell's charges include evading arrest, reckless driving, being a fugitive from justice and criminal impersonation. He's wanted in Georgetown, Ky., for failure to appear in connection with heroin trafficking and giving police a false name, according to KPD spokesman Scott Erland.
Bell has visible head injuries from Thursday night's car crash in the Cedar Lane area.
Lovett, according to Erland, is charged with simple possession.
About 10 p.m. Thursday, a vehicle carrying Bell and Lovett crashed into a tree near East Inskip and Fennel roads after officers tried to stop it in the Cedar Lane area.
According to KPD, they may have been involved in a shooting that had just happened on Fisher Lane as well as one that had occurred earlier Thursday on Anita Drive near Cottrell Street in South Knoxville near the James White Parkway.
Bell suffered injuries and was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center. Inside the vehicle police found a loaded gun, according to KPD.
Bell and Lovett had the same Detroit addresses as the suspect in the South Knoxville shooting.
PRIOR STORY: The Knoxville Police Department responded to a shooting in South Knoxville Thursday morning that later led to a man leaping off a bridge into the Tennessee River in an attempt to escape officers.
According to Scott Erland with KPD, the call came in from Anita Drive and Cottrell Street just across from the James White Parkway bridge. KPD responded to a second possible shooting at 10 p.m. Thursday, and arrested two more people shortly after wards.
KPD said a man involved in the first shooting, 28-year-old Martez Wilson from Detroit, stopped at the intersection when a vehicle pulled up near him and someone fired numerous shots and fled.
Officers said Wilson ran, saying when they arrived they found him walking on the South Knoxville Bridge with a gun. When they confronted them, Erland said Wilson dropped the gun into the Tennessee River and jumped off the bridge into the river to try and escape.
Additional police responded to Island Home Avenue and took Wilson into custody without further incident near McCormick Street.
KPD said Wilson sustained minor injuries. According to Erland, there are no other suspects in custody at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
Wilson is being charged with felon possession of a handgun, destruction of evidence and evading arrest.
On Thursday night, police said they arrested two people who they suspected of being involved in two possible shootings earlier that day in South Knoxville: the one on Thursday morning and another just before 10 p.m. on Fisher Lane.
At about 10 p.m., police tried to stop a vehicle in the Cedar Lane area of North Knoxville. KPD said the driver did not stop, and police pursued them for a few miles until the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree.
The officers were able to take a passenger into custody, but the driver had to be freed from the vehicle with the assistance of the Knoxville Fire Department. A loaded firearm was located inside the vehicle.
KPD said the driver was taken to UTER for treatment of what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries. No other vehicles or people were involved or injured in the crash.
KPD said its Violent Crimes Unit is still actively investigating the possible connections to the earlier shootings and any relationships. Both driver and passenger had Detroit, MI addresses, the same as the suspect in the earlier shooting.
Charges are pending for the driver, and the passenger was charged with weapons and drug charges. KPD said possible other charges are pending as well. As the investigation is on-going, no names are being released.