Man arrested after police chase through Hamilton Place Mall area, pulling knife on Target employees

Photo by Hamilton County Jail
Photo by Hamilton County Jail

A man was arrested Tuesday after leading local law enforcement on a vehicle pursuit through the Hamilton Place mall area after pulling a knife on Target loss prevention employees.

Mitchell Sullivan, 47, allegedly stole items from the Target located at 1816 Gunbarrel Road. Loss prevention employees tried to stop him, but Sullivan pulled a knife and started waving it in their faces, saying, "I got my knife now, m--," according to court records.

He fled the scene in a white Ford Focus and police found him in the parking lot of Panera Bread, located just across from Target, court records show. An officer tried to approach Sullivan, but he accelerated his vehicle in an attempt to hit the officer. He fled the scene again.

At that point, Hamilton County sheriff's deputies joined the chase, weaving through traffic on Hamilton Place Boulevard and then to Shallowford Road before getting on Lee Highway.

Sullivan was clocked going 80 mph in a 40 mph zone before crashing into two vehicles trying to cross Lee Highway, court records state.

The two victims sustained minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Officers then detained Sullivan and placed him in handcuffs.

While talking to a medic at the scene, an officer heard Sullivan admit to having consumed "1/4 of meth," court records show.

Officers had to continuously talk to Sullivan to keep him from falling asleep, the records state.

In the vehicle, police found spoons with narcotic residue, needles, a small plastic bag of pills and a dose of Narcan.

Sullivan faces a slew of charges, including seven counts of aggravated assault, theft of property, reckless endangerment, DUI and evading arrest.

Sullivan has an extensive arrest history in Hamilton County dating back to 2003, according to online court records. Most of them are drug-related charges.

Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @Hughes Rosana.

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