A man who was allegedly involved in a shooting incident that was followed by a high speed police chase through some streets of Lake Independence on Friday afternoon was remanded to prison after he was arraigned on two charges before Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith on Monday.
Maroquin Antwon Drury, 22, a tour guide and resident of 11 Santa Barbara Street, pleaded not guilty to grievous harm and use of deadly means of harm against Joshua Lewis.
But the Monday morning arraignment had to be adjourned to the court’s afternoon session, to determine if Drury could be granted bail for the two indictable offenses.
His attorney, Bryan Neal, attempted to secure bail for his client, since no plea was taken from him and he was not charged with attempted murder, for which remand to prison is automatic.
Because of the use of a firearm, however, he was remanded to prison until his next court date on May 28.
According to a police report of the incident, on Friday, March 28, at around 1:30 p.m., police on mobile patrol attempted to intercept a maroon Astro van that was heading from the Complex area on Mahogany Street where someone had just gotten shot. The shooting victim has been identified as Joshua Lewis.
The police attempted to stop the Astro van, from which they believe the gunshots were fired.
The driver, however, refused to stop the van, and instead, accelerated in an attempt to escape from police, and a dangerous, high-speed chase in the Lake I area began.
According to eyewitnesses on the scene, shots were fired at police from someone inside the van. Police returned fire, hitting the van several times.
But the driver of the van continued driving at dangerously high speeds in a desperate attempt to shake off the police vehicle.
According to police, someone got out of the van and escaped before it finally stopped on Santa Barbara Street at the residence of the accused shooter, Drury, who had managed to contact his attorney, Neal.
Neal was on the scene when the police arrived and he witnessed the police search of his client’s vehicle, from which some expended shells were recovered.