Pair faces weapon charges after high-speed Peoria chase

PEORIA ( 25News Now ) - Peoria Police arrested two suspects who they said attempted to flee from police and discard a firearm Saturday.

The suspects, Demetrius M. Perkins, 28, and Jacobi M. Turner-Claudin, 31, face a slew of charges.

Perkins, who reportedly was the driver of the vehicle, faces the following charges:

Aggravated assault (two counts)

Criminal damage to property (three counts)

Obstructing an officer

Aggravated fleeing (two counts)

Reckless driving

Resisting police

Several traffic violations

Turner-Claudin, identified as the passenger in the car, faces the following charges:

Unlawful possession of a machine gun

Possession of a firearm

Unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (two counts)

Aggravated unlawful use of a weapon

Possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card

Unlawful possession of firearm ammunition without a FOID card

Obstructing an officer

Resisting police

Peoria Police said the arrests happened just after 12:30 p.m. Saturday after the suspects fled from officers during a traffic stop, when Perkins sped away at a high rate of speed.

Officers saw the vehicle stop at the intersection of W. Martin Street and S. Blaine Street. When police approached the vehicle, Perkins shiffted the vehicle into reverse and struck a patrol vehicle, injuring no one, before speeding away once again.

Eventually, the vehicle crashed into a fence in the 300 block of S. Madison Park Terrace. Both suspects then fled the scene on foot.

Not long after, officers caught both suspects and recovered a discarded fully automatic firearm.

Both suspects were taken to the Peoria County Jail.