Locklear

Locklear

<p>Shown is the vehicle wrecked Thursday morning by Brandon Locklear after a police chase that started in Pembroke and ended in Union Chapel.</p>
                                 <p>Courtesy photo | Pembroke Police Department</p>

Shown is the vehicle wrecked Thursday morning by Brandon Locklear after a police chase that started in Pembroke and ended in Union Chapel.

Courtesy photo | Pembroke Police Department

PEMBROKE — A vehicle chase Thursday ended with the pursued car crashing and Pembroke police arresting a Maxton man.

Police were responding about 8:09 a.m. to a wellness check call at C&P Mini Mart on Union Chapel Road before the chase started, Pembroke police Chief Ed Locklear said. Officers found Brandon Keith Locklear in his Toyota Camry passenger car in the business’ parking lot. One officer saw marijuana in the vehicle.

Brandon Locklear, of Prospect Road, refused to step out of his vehicle and the chase began.

“High rates of speed” were reached during the chase, which ended near the Maynor Center at NC. 72 and Union Chapel Road, Chief Locklear said.

The vehicle hit a road tile as it passed through an intersection at the Maynor Center, causing the car to flip and collide with a building behind a gas station in the Union Chapel area, the police chief said. Brandon Locklear climbed out of his vehicle and onto the building’s roof, where police took him into custody.

Brandon Locklear was taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment, according to the Pembroke Police Department. No one else was in the vehicle with Brandon Locklear, or injured in the crash. The building was occupied at the time of the crash, but no one inside was injured.

“The hospital released him, but said he had a cracked vertebrae,” the police chief said.

Brandon Locklear was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a stolen firearm, Chief Locklear said. Charges brought by the State Highway Patrol include failure to stop for blue light and siren, driving while impaired, careless and reckless driving, no insurance, failure to register a vehicle, failure to stop for a stop sign, and speeding.

Brandon Locklear was taken to the Robeson County Detention Center and given a $25,000 unsecured bond. He has since been released, the police chief said.

The State Highway Patrol helped direct traffic at the scene of the crash, and Pembroke police officers were to return Thursday to search the vehicle for drugs, Chief Locklear said.