Suspect implicated in BRPD chase that killed innocent man now faces manslaughter charge
BATON ROUGE - A man who was fleeing police when he T-boned a truck at a traffic light is now facing a manslaughter charge for killing the innocent driver who was behind the wheel of that other vehicle.
The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Bryan Jones, was quietly booked into jail for aggravated flight and marijuana possession within hours of the March 9 crash. Arrest documents filed Tuesday, two months after the deadly wreck, say he now faces a charge for manslaughter.
At the time of the crash, police said the suspect was taken to a hospital with major injuries but did not identify him. Though booking documents suggest Jones was arrested hours after the chase, BRPD would not release his identity that day.
According to arrest documents, police initially tried to stop Jones over a broken tail light. Jones reportedly faked as if he was pulling over before speeding off and running a red light, leading officers on the chase.
Jones ultimately ran another red light at the intersection of North Acadian Thruway and Fairfields Avenue, hitting another driver who was not involved in the chase. That driver, 56-year-old Victor Duncan, was tossed from his truck and died from his injuries a short while later.
When taking Jones into custody, police found a "small amount" of marijuana in his front left pocket. Police also learned after the chase that Jones had multiple outstanding warrants for theft.
The latest arrest warrant shows police ran a toxicology test and found marijuana in Jones' system, but the test could not prove he was impaired.
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Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said at the time that her office was requesting a "full report" on the deadly chase. Neither BRPD nor the city have released any additional information on that internal review since then.