Court adds third charge to SEMO football player's criminal case, bond raised

Southeast Missouri State University football player Tony Terry has had another charge added to the criminal case involving him allegedly fleeing police Saturday, March 8.

Terry, 20, of Buffordville, Ohio, allegedly fled police while driving and committed several traffic offenses. Terry was facing a class D felony of aggravated fleeing a stop and a class B misdemeanor of careless and imprudent driving. There was another felony charge of aggravated fleeing a stop filed against Terry on Monday, March 10, by Cape Girardeau County assistant prosecuting attorney Tabatha Blakely.

A probable-cause statement was filed the same day as Blakely's filing. The state Highway Patrol probable cause states that after a state trooper heard radio traffic regarding the pursuit of Terry, the trooper caught up with the vehicle when, at times, Terry allegedly exceeded 100 mph.

According to the document, while Terry was being pursued, he made a U-turn and nearly sideswiped the trooper. Stop sticks had been deployed on an unspecified road where Terry's vehicle was eventually spiked. The trooper caught up to Terry and confirmed his passenger-side rear tire was flattened.

The document states Terry continued southbound on a gravel roadway, then eastbound on a paved roadway and allegedly failed to turn northbound.

"The vehicle attempted to negotiate a downhill soft curve to the left and began skidding and rotated counterclockwise off the west side of the roadway. The vehicle overturned and struck a tree, rolling the vehicle over onto its top and rotating clockwise several rotations," the probable cause states.

The trooper states he observed Terry crawl out of the vehicle and begin running south. The trooper told another officer to release dogs in an attempt to get Terry to comply. The trooper also states he saw Terry shine a cellphone into what he thought was a black bag on him.

The document states that the trooper deployed his Taser but was unsuccessful. When Terry allegedly slowed down and stopped, he began to shine his cellphone in his bag. The probable cause states that when Terry shined a light in the bag, the trooper drew his handgun, believing Terry may have had a gun.

"I asked the suspect if he had a gun in the bag and he replied, 'no sir'. I asked him why he wouldn't put the bag down and the suspect dropped the bag. I continued negotiating with the suspect for approximately ten (10) minutes. During that time, the suspect told me that he didn't know why he was being pulled over," the probable cause states.

The trooper states he asked Terry as they booked him to the county jail to explain why he fled.

"Terry ultimately stated something to the effect that he was scared but couldn't explain why," the document states.

Terry's bond was raised to $60,000 on Tuesday, March 11, following the third charge being filed. Terry was released from jail Wednesday, March 12.