Mickale Williams and Joseph Marshall were arrested Oct. 26 after they allegedly fled down Chisholm Street, crashing into cars and trees and nearly hitting pedestrians.

The three face multiple charges, from reckless driving to fleeing a police officer to conspiracy to distribute narcotics.

Judge Thomas LaCross, after hearing police testimony, said there is sufficient evidence for the cases against Williams and Marshall to continue to trial. A third man related to the incident, Christian Johnson, 20, of Detroit, was found near the Wendy’s restaurant on Chisholm and arrested.

Johnson is charged with prescription fraud and is due in court on Monday.

Joseph Marshall

Testimony in Wednesday’s court hearing painted a dramatic picture of the pursuit, including a foot chase, that ended in the arrests of Williams, Marshall, and another man.

About 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26, officers from the Alpena Police Department and Alpena County Sheriff’s Office were called to LeFave Pharmacy on Chisholm in Alpena to handle a complaint about someone trying to get drugs using a fake prescription.

When police cars neared the occupants of a Cadillac in the pharmacy parking lot, the car abruptly left, speeding toward downtown, Deputy Lisa Wisniewski testified at Wednesday’s hearing.

Pursued by a police vehicle with its sirens blaring, the Cadillac’s driver — Williams, 22, of Detroit, according to police — swerved through traffic at high speed, sometimes in the lane of oncoming traffic. The driver careened through two red stop lights and knocked over construction cones near 11th Avenue.

The Cadillac veered around a construction truck trying to turn left onto 9th Avenue, crashing into the truck’s front end, before continuing down Chisholm with police still in pursuit as other drivers pulled to the side.

Mickale Williams

Though Wisniewski was hanging back from the fleeing vehicle, she was going above the speed limit, and the Cadillac was going even faster, the officer testified.

In the next block, according to witness accounts included in police reports about the incident, Williams drove onto the sidewalk to pass another vehicle and almost hit two 11-year-old girls waiting to cross 8th Avenue toward the courthouse.

Williams seemed to lose control near Dairy Queen and almost crashed into the building, Wisniewski recounted. The car finally slowed after jumping another curb on 7th Avenue, taking out several trees on the corner.

Arriving moments later, Wisniewski discovered the heavily damaged car empty. People nearby yelled to Wisniewski that two men jumped out of the car while it was still rolling and took off on foot.

Wisniewski and another officer ran several blocks down Chisholm, trying to catch the fleeing men, but didn’t find them.

An Alpena Police Department officer, Linnessa Mellberg, was finishing handling a complaint near Tawas Street and 5th Avenue when she heard over police radio that a man running from police had been spotted a block away from her.

When she rounded a corner, Mellberg testified, she saw a Michigan State Police trooper arresting Williams. Another man — Marshall, the passenger, according to police — was fleeing around a nearby house. Knowing the house to not have a fenced back yard, Mellburg ran to where she knew the man would emerge.

As he did, Marshall tripped and fell to the ground. A trooper ran to him, shouting commands with gun drawn and in a “low-ready” position. When Marshall made a move to escape, Mellberg drew her gun as well, yelling orders, and handcuffed him, she testified.

Two fake prescriptions and two Michigan IDs that matched the names on the prescriptions were found in the Cadillac. Police also found two baggies of pills — one identified as containing ecstasy — and a scale with possible drug residue.

Williams also had a large amount of cash in his possession.

Another Alpena Police Department officer who has served on the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team testified that, between the cash, the pills, and the apparent drug-related paraphernalia, it appeared that the men in the car planned to distribute illegal drugs.

During a police interview after his arrest, Williams, who admitted to being the driver, apologized for leaving the scene and said he was glad nobody was hurt, according to police reports.

At Wednesday’s joint preliminary exams, at which a judge decides if there is enough evidence for a case to continue to trial, attorneys for Williams and Marshall both argued that there was no evidence either defendant knew about the drugs in the car or about the false prescriptions.

“I don’t believe that that argument flies,” said Alpena Chief Assistant Prosecutor Nancy Ward, noting that both items were wedged next to the seat where, allegedly, Marshall sat for four hours on the drive to Alpena from Detroit.

Both defense attorneys conceded there was plenty of evidence that the men had fled from police and resisted arrest.

LaCross, noting that Wisniewski was put in danger as she chased the fleeing vehicle, bound both men over to Circuit Court on all counts.

Marshall and Johnson are still incarcerated in the Alpena County Jail.

Williams, the driver, was released on Nov. 25 on a $100,000 bond.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.