An Atmore man, initially suspected of stealing several items from a local business, remained in the Escambia County Detention Center this week, charged with attempting to run down two Atmore police officers who were trying to arrest him on the theft charge.
According to an employee of the county jail’s booking and release division, Marvin Angelo Moorer of Atmore is being held on two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and one count each of fleeing and attempting to elude officers and possession of a controlled substance. Bond information was not available at press time.
According to a press release issued Tuesday by city police, the incident occurred December 20, after officers responded to a theft from a local auto parts store of “items valued at approximately $100.”
Store employees were able to give a detailed description of the thief and his vehicle, including the license number, and police officers observed a vehicle and driver matching that description a short time later on Martin Luther King Drive.
According to police reports, officers approached the driver of the vehicle, later identified as Moorer, who refused to comply with orders and sped away. He then cricled back and “intentionally tried to strike the officers with his vehicle.”
The policemen were able to leap to safety and were not injured, but Moorer slammed his vehicle into an APD patrol vehicle, causing extensive damage to its passenger side and effectively disabling it before he fled in his personal vehicle, which reportedly also sustained a significant amount of damage but remained operational.
Other officers pursued Moorer as he fled. Several officers eventually joined the pursuit and were able to surround the suspect’s vehicle and force him to a safe stop. An undisclosed quantity of an unspecified controlled substance was discovered after the stop, leading to the drug possession charge.