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over on Ingram Boulevard.

It was then the driver sped off and entered I-40 headed east at speeds reaching 115 miles-per-hour toward Memphis. Arkansas State Police troopers joined in the chase where one trooper initiated the Pursuit Intervention Technique, also known as the PIT maneuver, at the Mound City Road overpass.

The driver, later identified as Marshon Sanford, 31, of Memphis, Tenn., exited the vehicle and fled on foot eastbound with officers in pursuit.

Sanford reached Mound City Road where he laid down in a ditch next to the I-40 on ramp giving police an opportunity to take him into custody.

During an inventory of the vehicle, officers located a baggie of marijuana and a baggie of approximately five suspected ecstasy pills. When asked why he fled, Sanford said it was because his driver’s license was suspected and he didn’t want to go to jail.

“This vehicle was involved in two other instances where police attempted to make routine traffic stops in hotel parking lots. Our data has shown that a large majority of our suspects of hotel breaking and enterings are driving vehicles displaying Tennessee drive-out tags,” Langston said.

Langston also said officers have been on the lookout for any vehicle on hotel lots that display a drive-out tag and have been instructed to make contact with the occupants to make sure they have a valid reason for being on the properties.

We started a targeted enforcement at the hotels in April and have seen a significant decrease in these B& Es. Our issue is that groups from Memphis come to West Memphis to specifically to target travelers along the interstate and then flee back to Memphis before they can be caught,” Langston said.

Sanford has been charged with fleeing, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, reckless driving