CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office said a man will serve 10 years in prison after leading deputies on a high-speed chase in June.
According to the DA’s office, Lorenzo Kodesch Johnson, Jr. was seen driving with a window tinted darker than the legal limit on June 12.
When a Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office deputy tried to follow the vehicle, the 31-year-old took off at high speed.
The DA’s office said the deputy put his lights on and tried to perform a traffic stop, but Johnson sped up, hitting 90 miles per hour and driving in a “dangerous manner” while in heavy traffic.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Truck spills piles of ‘undeliverable’ mail on side of I-285 in Cobb County
- Atlanta officials discuss proposal to change Office of Inspector General, Ethics Office rules
- Challenge to Mableton cityhood dismissed by Georgia Supreme Court
During the chase, the DA’s office said Johnson drove on the wrong side of the road and passed “more than 60 cars” going from Waleska Road to Mary Lane to Hospital Road, then back onto Waleska Road to Reinhardt College Parkway, then Laurel Canyon Parkway before he was stopped.
The DA’s office said Johnson told deputies he’d driven away because he had marijuana in his possession as well as other warrants out for his arrest.
“This defendant chose to endanger countless lives the day he engaged in a high-speed chase instead of pulling over for law enforcement. He chose to run instead of obeying the law,” Assistant District Attorney William “Trey” Smith, said in a statement. “Cherokee Sheriff’s Office handled the pursuit in a safe manner and assured that this defendant was quickly apprehended.”
Now, Johnson will serve 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole and will serve all 10 in prison, under what the DA’s office said was the recidivist statute.
“The actions of this defendant were extremely dangerous. He could easily have killed a fellow motorist or a pedestrian the day he chose to disregard the deputy’s emergency lights and siren and put the safety of so many at risk,” District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said. “We are thankful that no one was hurt and that this recidivist offender is receiving just punishment for his actions.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
