August 12, 2024 – Washington Township Police, Waynesboro Police and Pennsylvania State Police were all involved in an early morning chase on Buchanan Trail in and around Waynesboro on Sunday that resulted in the arrest of a Maryland man. Marzuis Jones was charged with three counts of child endangerment, aggravated fleeing from an officer, three counts of reckless endangerment, minor resisting arrest and minor drunken driving. He was unable to make the $75,000 bail.
On August 11 at approximately 3:53 a.m., Washington Township Police found a silver Infiniti G35 with Maryland plates traveling at a significant rate of speed on a section of Buchanan Trail East before turning into the AC&T gas station in Washington Township. After stopping at the pump, law enforcement officers observed the Infiniti in a parked position, but with its brake lights on, meaning it was still in drive mode and one foot was on the brake. This continued for over 15 minutes, according to police, until law enforcement officers checked the driver.
As officers checked the vehicle, they parked a patrol vehicle directly in front of the Infiniti and knocked on the driver’s window to wake them up. Officers say they saw three children in the back seat and the driver, now identified as Marzuis Jones of Baltimore, woke up for a short time before nodding off again. WTPD then opened the door and began yelling to alert the driver, who continued to sleep. Officers say they even rubbed Jones’s sternum to wake him up, at which point he quickly woke up again and went back to sleep. For safety reasons, officers say they reached in and put the vehicle in park before turning it off.
At that point, officials say, Jones woke up again, started the engine, and put the car in forward gear. Jones then allegedly noticed the patrol car in front of him and put the car in reverse while still holding the passenger door open. Jones allegedly even told the WTPD officer to “watch out” so he wouldn’t get hit by the door before backing up. The other patrol car blocked Jones’ rear, but he allegedly backed up anyway to hit the patrol car before maneuvering around the front car and circling the parking lot.
Jones then reportedly returned to Buchanan Trail East and headed toward the Borough of Waynesboro, where marked Waynesboro Police Department vehicles joined the pursuit. The car reportedly continued for approximately 3.8 miles until it turned into the area of Patterson’s Diesel. This is where Pennsylvania State Police joined the operation.
After refusing to comply with PSP’s requests to exit the vehicle, Marzuis Jones was tasered, which he eventually did. Officers and police then discovered that a seven-year-old and two nine-year-olds were in the back seat. Jones reportedly told police that he had been shot several times earlier in the day. Additionally, officers said they smelled the odor of marijuana coming from his vehicle during the initial confrontation at the gas station.
Marzuis Jones is behind bars in Franklin County on a $75,000 bond.
Sources: File number: MJ-39306-CR-0000145-2024, incident number: WTPD2024-05950
