Fugitive’s run ends in Junaluska Creek
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Jason William Burrell’s five-day crime spree ended Wednesday, Jan. 22, when the Volkswagen he had stolen crashed in Bellvie’s Curve on Junaluska Road in Cherokee County. Photo by Robbi Pounds/rpounds@grahamstar.com
By Penny Ray and Robbi Pounds
Community Newspapers, Inc.
Andrews – A five-day caper concluded on the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 22, when an armed robbery suspect flipped the getaway car into Junaluska Creek around 1 p.m..
“We took him to the hospital. He’s fine, and he’s in jail,” said Lt. Tiffany Holland of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Jason William Burrell, 40, racked up 10 felony charges and one misdemeanor charge during the ordeal, which spanned several communities throughout Cherokee County.
“He was our No. 1 mission for a few days,” Holland said.
The escapade started on Saturday, Jan. 18, when Burrell allegedly stole a 2016 Volkswagen Passat from someone he knows in Murphy. Deputies located the car at a local motel a few hours later and towed it back to its owner.
The following day, Burrell allegedly visited the victim to steal the car a second time, which led to a confrontation. During the argument, officials say Burrell fired five rounds from a handgun to scare away the vehicle’s owner.
Deputies searched for Burrell following the shooting, eventually getting a lead on his whereabouts after receiving a call on Jan. 21 regarding an armed robbery at a convenience store on N.C. 141 in Marble. During the robbery, a man armed with a revolver stole $1,300 in cash, $29 worth of food and several other items.
Deputies say surveillance footage of the robbery shows Burrell as the suspect.
“We determined through photos that it was actually him and the car he stole,” Holland said.
After the armed robbery, law enforcement agencies throughout the area were notified that an armed and dangerous suspect was on the run.
“Most of our deputies searched for him for the vast majority of (Jan. 21),” Cherokee County Sheriff Derrick Palmer said. “They split up, and checked flophouses and places he may have frequented. We were all over the county and never found him.”
The full-court press proved fruitful the next day, when Detective J.J. Wooten noticed the stolen Passat on Main Street in downtown Andrews.
Officials say Burrell swapped the car’s license plate with another one he stole in Ranger after the armed robbery.
“Since it was a highly populated area and he had a gun, we waited for him to leave to reduce the chances of harm to civilians,” Holland said. “We followed him, and as soon as he figured out we were behind him, the chase started.”
The chase lasted a few miles and reached speeds of 80 m.p.h. in a 45 m.p.h. zone, when Burrell lost control of the Volkswagen as he tried to navigate Belvie’s Curve, a notorious bend in Junaluska Road that has sent many vehicles into the creek over the years.
Officials say a tire crossed onto the wet grass, causing the car to slide down the embankment and flip over into the water.
Burrell was extracted from the upside-down vehicle and loaded into an ambulance, which headed toward Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree with a police escort following. The N.C. Highway Patrol, Andrews Police Department and Cherokee Indian Police Department all assisted the sheriff’s office in the arrest.
“This is a best-case scenario, really,” Palmer said. “He’s just banged up a little bit, but otherwise nobody got hurt. He’s in custody, and we didn’t have to have a shootout.”
During the subsequent arrest, deputies allegedly found five grams of methamphetamine and five grams of marijuana.
Burrell is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, burglary, two counts of larceny, two counts of possession of stolen items, eluding, possession of a firearm by a felon and drug offenses.
He was convicted of felony drug possession in Georgia in 2005.