Driver charged after two-county pursuit

A Prentiss County man faces a charge of felony fleeing after leading law enforcement on a pursuit from south Corinth into Prentiss County Wednesday morning.
Corinth police identified the man as Robert Welch, 46. His address is listed as a post office box in Booneville and is believed to reside in Prentiss County.
The situation began just before 11 a.m. in the area of Cemetery and Dickey streets as Officer Arlene Gann attempted to stop a suspicious vehicle whose driver failed to use a traffic signal when turning.
The 1996 Honda sport utility vehicle made several blocks in the south Corinth area. At some point as the vehicle was followed by the officer, the passenger jumped out of the vehicle and tossed an object believed to be drugs back into the vehicle, said Scotty Harville, assistant Corinth police chief.
The Honda finally traveled west on U.S. Highway 72, reaching speeds of 90 mph as it ran stop lights at the intersections with Cass, Fulton, Tate and both intersections with U.S. Highway 45.
"We cut off the pursuit at the city limits," said Harville. "The county got involved on 72." The pursuit left the city limits at 11:05 a.m. The vehicle turned onto Mississippi Highway 2 and traveled through Kossuth and Hightown as it headed toward Prentiss County on County Road 500. The pursuit apparently ended with the suspect crashing in Prentiss County without serious injury. The Prentiss County Sheriff's Department referred inquiries about the pursuit's end to Alcorn County.
Welch faces several charges in Corinth, including felony fleeing. As of 4 p.m., he had not been returned to Corinth. The passenger in the vehicle was charged with at least one misdemeanor.