Man involved in Pickens County high-speed chase gets 6 months in jail

A man from Georgia who led officers on a high-speed chase through Pickens County in 2022 has been sentenced to six months in jail, 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Andy Hamlin announced last week.

Fredrick Hood Jr., 29, of Lithonia, Georgia, refused to pull over during a traffic stop on Oct. 2, 2022, and lead officers in Pickens County on a dangerous, winding chase for more than 20 miles.

The chase began when Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jody Elmore clocked Hood at 93 mph in a 65 mph zone on U.S. Highway 82, about 7 miles from the state line just before 7 p.m.

Hood, who was traveling east from Columbus, Mississippi, drove in excess of 110 mph during the chase. Two passengers who were in the vehicle with Hood later told officers they asked him to stop and let them out, but he refused.

Police officers from Reform, Carrollton and Aliceville alongside additional deputies from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office joined in the pursuit, and Reform Police Chief Richard Black got into a wreck with another driver during the chase.

Eventually, another PCSO deputy released spike strips near the intersection of Reform and Kilpatrick streets in Carrollton. Soon after releasing the strips, Hood was taken into custody.

“This defendant showed no regard for the safety of the officers, the drivers he put in danger and
his own passengers who pleaded with him to stop,” Hamlin said. “Thankfully, no was injured or
killed as a result of his unlawful and incredibly dangerous actions.”

Hood pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment, reckless endangerment, attempting to elude law
enforcement officers and speeding.

He began his six-month sentence in Pickens County Jail on June 15, and will be on probation for two years after his release.