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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
Heavyweight contender Jared Anderson was charged with third-degree felony fleeing a police officer at his arraignment Saturday morning after officers said he led them on a 6-plus-mile chase with speeds exceeding 130 mph, according to the Huron Township (Mich.) director of public safety.
Anderson, per police, fled and evaded officers in an orange Dodge Challenger on Thursday around 1:36 p.m. ET, a chase that included three attempted traffic stops and ended with the boxer crashing into a median. He was released Saturday morning after he posted $10,000 bond on the condition he does not drive unless traveling to and from court dates.
His next court date, a probable cause hearing, is scheduled for district court in Romulus, Michigan, on March 13. A preliminary exam is set for March 20.
Anderson, 24, was taken into custody without further incident following the crash, police said. If Anderson is convicted, the charge carries a punishment of up to five years in prison and/or a $1,000 fine along with a one-year driver’s license suspension.
Anderson (16-0, 15 KOs) is in training camp in his native Toledo, Ohio, for a “Top Rank Boxing on ESPN” main event April 13 against Ryad Merhy in Corpus Christi, Texas. Anderson is ESPN’s No. 8 heavyweight and is widely considered America’s top heavyweight champion hopeful.
Top Rank declined comment.
“We certainly believe it was a case of him baiting us based on the fact he had a camera mounted to the back of his vehicle and that he continued to play a cat-and-mouse game,” Everette Robbins, the Huron Township director of public safety, told ESPN on Saturday.
“We’re very fortunate that nobody got hurt; the speed reached high levels. Very fortunate our officers were able to balance the public safety with getting him into custody based on his dangerous behavior. The fact he kept going northbound, southbound, it was certainly some attempt to cop bait.”
An officer was conducting traffic enforcement when he noticed Anderson’s orange Dodge Challenger, fitted with a black hood, yellow coverings on the front splitter and a camera mount with a pole affixed to the rear windshield of the vehicle. Anderson was traveling at the 70 mph speed limit until he approached the officer, when he sped up and was clocked at 91 mph.
He began rapidly passing other vehicles when the officer activated his lights to signal Anderson to pull over. Police said Anderson then led them on an initial 5.28-mile chase, ultimately reaching speeds over 130 mph as he weaved through traffic. That’s when the officer terminated the chase, deeming it a public safety hazard.
Anderson exited southbound and then reentered the freeway northbound. Another traffic stop was attempted, but Anderson again gunned the vehicle to speeds exceeding 130 mph. This second, 0.81-mile chase ended as Anderson again weaved through cars and presented a safety hazard.
Moments after the second police pursuit ended, a 911 call was received describing an orange Challenger driving recklessly through the streets. The officer spotted the car at a stop sign before Anderson peeled off toward the freeway.
Another traffic stop was attempted as Anderson headed southbound and weaved through traffic. This one ended after 0.32 miles and lasted less than one minute. Finally, an assisting officer saw the vehicle cut across all three lanes and crash into the median.
Anderson was previously arrested in November in Ohio and charged with improperly handling firearms in a vehicle while knowingly under the influence and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In December, Anderson pleaded no contest to an amended charge of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle while the OVI charge was dropped. Anderson was fined $200 and handed a 180-day suspended sentence at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio contingent on him not committing a similar offense within one year.
Anderson last fought in August, when he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Andriy Rudenko. He fought twice more in 2023, picking up victories over George Arias in March (TKO 3) and former heavyweight titleholder Charles Martin in July. The decision win over Martin was the lone time an Anderson opponent heard the final bell.
Source: www.espn.com