Flat tire stops man who fled after mid-afternoon shooting in downtown Lexington

Karla Ward
·2 min read
2

A young man was arrested in connection with a shooting in downtown Lexington Friday afternoon after the car he fled in had a flat tire.

Police were called to the 200 block of Short Street near Elm Tree Lane at about 2:40 p.m. to respond to a report that someone in a white Chrysler 300 had fired multiple shots at another vehicle, said Lexington police Lt. Donnell Gordon. No one was injured, he said.

Gordon said he spotted the suspect on North Broadway and activated his lights to try to stop the car, but the driver fled, and because of heavy traffic downtown, Gordon said he did not continue the pursuit.

Gordon said officers then spotted the vehicle on Loudon Avenue heading toward Winchester Road. He said the driver continued to flee, but the police helicopter was able to keep the vehicle in sight.

“The vehicle ended up blowing a tire out on its own,” Gordon said.

The suspect, identified by police late Friday as J’Lynn Hersey, 18, got out and ran but was arrested at Liberty Road and Downs Avenue. Police recovered a gun at the scene.

Police said in a news release that Hersey “was taken into custody on outstanding warrants from a previous incident.” He’s also charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, two counts of first-degree fleeing or evading police and no operator’s license. He was being held in the Fayette County Detention Center.

Gordon asked that anyone with video surveillance footage of the area of Elm Tree and Short and anyone with knowledge of what led up the the shooting call police.

Police said anyone with information can call (859) 258-3600 or submit a tip anonymously through Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020 or visiting bluegrasscrimestoppers.com. Tips can also be submitted through the P3 tips app at P3tips.com.

Scott Crosbie, who has represented the Lexington police union in legal matters, posted on Facebook that a lawyer in his office witnessed the shooting on Short Street near Martin Luther King.

“Well, it is 2:45 p.m. on Friday in downtown Lexington and we just had a shootout on Short Street at corner of MLK,” he wrote. “Just another day in Lexington. The entire event was shockingly witnessed by one of my lawyers in our office. Less than 100 yards from LPD Headquarters and City Hall. We need more police officers.”