By By Mary Allison-Lancaster
Brewton police officers were among the targets late Wednesday as two attempted robbery suspects shot at law enforcement late Wednesday while on a high-speed chase.
The chase began when Ollis Wayne Hamby and his wife Esther Waldrop of Trinity, Ala., attempted to rob at gunpoint a Burger King located on McMeans Avenue in Bay Minette, officials said. The couple then fled in their rented vehicle with their two small children, ages 2 and 4, and led officers on a 70-mile chase, with speeds reaching nearly 130 mph.
During their escape, Hamby, 26, began to fire shots with a .25-caliber pistol at Bay Minette and Atmore police officers, while Waldrop proceeded to shoot at officers with a shotgun, according to police reports.
Brewton Police Chief Monte McGougin said his officers were alerted the couple had entered Escambia County and was heading into Brewton. McGougin said Brewton police officers caught up with the couple near Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. on Highway 31.
The officers followed the vehicle, which turned right on Young Street and continued to make a right turns until they ended back onto Highway 31. Officers Chevy Stewart and Phillip Young met the couple with metal spikes near A&A Radiator Shop on Highway 31.
The suspect's front tire blew out, but he continued to travel underneath the train trestle. McGougin said the vehicle ran into bushes and came to a halt there.
McGougin said Hamby jumped out of the vehicle, and officers with the Brewton Police Department, Escambia County Sheriff's Department, East Brewton Police Department, Flomaton Police Department and Drug Task Force caught Hamby and pulled Waldrop, 24, out of the vehicle.
The couple was booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Center.
Hamby was charged with attempted murder, attempt to elude, reckless endangerment and first-degree robbery. Waldrop was charged with attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
The couple's children were placed in the custody of the Escambia County Department of Human Resources.