JACKSON COUNTY — Indiana State Police is investigating after two Tennessee women were arrested on numerous charges for stealing items from a store in Edinburgh before they fled in a vehicle from troopers who tried to stop them on I-65 in Jackson County.
The two women were taken into custody after they were involved in a crash with a Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy in Scott County.
The incident happened around 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday when police responded to a vehicle that was involved in a theft from the Polo Ralph Lauren Store at the Premium Outlet Mall in Edinburgh.
Two women who were inside a Kia Optima sedan were reported to have gotten on I-65 heading southbound from Edinburgh. That’s when numerous troopers from several departments began looking for the car.
State Trooper Randel Miller found the vehicle matching the description, and upon attempting to stop the car, the driver, Tatyana J. Burgess, 22, of Antioch Tennessee drove off ensuing a pursuit that eventually ended in northern Scott County when the rear of Burgess’s car collided with Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Zach Elliott’s Chevrolet Tahoe.
Burgess and her passenger, Jernithia A. Bell, 20, of Nashville, Tennessee were then taken into custody. At that point, the Edinburgh Police Department also responded to the scene and collected numerous items that were allegedly stolen from the Polo Ralph Lauren store. Items believed to have been stolen from other stores were also found inside the car.
Both Burgess and Bell were transported to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour before being transported to the Jackson County Jail where they were incarcerated, pending their initial appearance in the Jackson County Circuit Court.
According to a release sent by Indiana State Police, on May 26, 2021, two Louisville, Kentucky women were arrested on I-65 in Jackson County after they stole approximately $7,000 from the same Polo Ralph Lauren store in Edinburgh. About an hour later that same day, a state trooper attempted to stop another Louisville, Kentucky woman who allegedly stole thousands of dollars of clothing from the same store. That woman, Ta’neasha Chappell, led the trooper and numerous other officers on a pursuit through three counties before finally crashing and being arrested in southern Clark County.
Officers believe all three of these incidents may be connected.
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