Suspect arrested following brief chase

The Wills Point Police Department arrested one suspect on multiple charges and released a minor passenger to a parent’s custody last week following an incident and brief chase that occurred in the early morning hours of Nov. 24.

According to reports of the incident, a WPPD officer was traveling along N. Fourth St. shortly before 3 a.m. when he attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling south that had failed to heed a red light.

Instead of stopping, the vehicle began accelerating south on S. Fourth St. before attempting to turn east onto East Broadmore. The driver slowed down to make the turn, losing control of the vehicle in the process, before sliding into a yard and striking a stop sign on the southeast corner of the intersection.

The driver, identified as 20-year old Jeremy Scott Royman of Wills Point, got out of the vehicle and laid down on the ground following the collision with the stop sign, and Royman’s passenger, identified only as a minor, subsequently followed suit at the direction of the WPPD officer.

Two Van Zandt County deputies arrived shortly after to help the secure the scene.

Under questioning Royman admitted that he had been drinking and did not want to get in trouble, and that there was a small amount of marijuana present inside his vehicle.

The minor, who reports indicate had implored Royman to stop the vehicle, was released into the custody of a parent at the scene.

Royman was taken to the WPPD for book-in paperwork before being transferred to the Van Zandt County Jail on charges including Evading Arrest/Detention w/ a Vehicle, Possession of Marijuana < 2 ounces and criminal mischief. Bond, which was posted on the same day of the incident, totaled $14,000 for the three charges.