A Tennessee man is facing a wide variety of charges in St. Tammany Parish after authorities say he broke into several restaurants over the weekend before leading sheriff’s deputies in a high-speed chase, crashing into several cars along the way.
All of the burglaries happened between 10:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 a.m. Saturday in the western part of St. Tammany Parish. Investigators said a white box truck was believed to have been used in the commission of the crimes.
According to St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sergeant Suzanne Carboni, a deputy noticed a white box truck matching the suspect vehicle’s description while patrolling on Collins Boulevard in Covington. The deputy tried to stop the truck, but, according to Sgt. Carboni, the driver sped away on U. S. 190 before veering onto Interstate 12. Sgt. Carboni says three vehicles not connected to the chase were struck by the suspect. The people inside those vehicles were taken to the hospital for treatment.
The car chase continued until the truck’s driver stopped after exiting I-12 at Pinnacle Parkway. That’s when, Sgt. Carboni says, the driver abandoned the truck and ran into a nearby neighborhood. The foot chase ended when deputies arrested the suspect.
Sgt. Carboni identified the suspect as Malik Morris. She also notes that Morris, 25, is also connected to another restaurant burglary that happened in the parish in June.
Morris is facing vehicular negligent injuring, aggravated criminal damage to property, simple burglary, and multiple guns and traffic charges.
