A high-speed chase that began on Interstate 20 in Vicksburg ended in Louisiana Wednesday afternoon with the arrest of a former Jackson police officer wanted for murder.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said a Warren County Sheriff’s deputy called in the first sighting of the suspect, kicking off a pursuit that included multiple law enforcement agencies across both states.

“This afternoon, the Jackson Police Department put out a bulletin to be on the lookout for a black Honda Accord possibly occupied by a Marcus Johnson, who was wanted for murder in Jackson,” Pace said. “At about 5:45 p.m., Warren County Deputy Dusty Keyes spotted the vehicle near the six-mile marker westbound on Interstate 20. He was joined almost immediately by a Vicksburg police officer and a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper.”

Pace said the suspect refused to yield to law enforcement, before traveling over the bridge into Louisiana.

“As they attempted to stop the vehicle, just past the Halls Ferry exit, the vehicle sped up, crossed into Louisiana, and continued at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour.”

As the chase entered Madison Parish, Pace said officers with the Delta Marshal’s Office and Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office joined the chase.

“Soon thereafter, Louisiana State Police joined in,” he said. “Madison Parish attempted a couple of times, unsuccessfully, to deflate the tires using deflation strips. We crossed into Richland Parish and were joined by additional state troopers and multiple units with the Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office.”

Pace said a second attempt to deflate the suspect’s tires helped bring the chase to an end without incident.

“They were able to deflate three of his tires as we approached the Rayville, Louisiana exit,” he said. “The vehicle rolled to a stop and the driver surrendered. He was identified as Marcus Johnson, who is wanted for murder out of Jackson.”

Pace said the vehicle was impounded by Richland Parish, where Johnson will be housed in the Richland Parish Jail awaiting extradition back to Mississippi.

Johnson was wanted for a homicide that occurred at Tapestry Northridge Apartments in Jackson early Tuesday morning. The victim, according to published reports, was 25-year-old Carlos Collins, who was shot multiple times.

Following Wednesday’s chase and Johnson’s subsequent arrest, Pace said the pursuit could have ended much differently and praised the teamwork of all departments involved.

“I spoke with Jackson Police Chief (Joseph) Wade on the scene and he actually dispatched a JPD detective to meet us at the location of the arrest,” Pace said. “All of the agencies did a great job coming together to bring this thing to a peaceful resolution. My fear, as we were getting closer to Monroe with that traffic, was it was increasing the likelihood that an innocent person could get hurt or killed at the speeds we were traveling. So, everyone just did a great job and the fact that we were able to get him stopped outside of Monroe worked out so that nobody got hurt.”