On Saturday, the Blairsville Police Department announced the surrender of Shiloh Jacob Orellana-Irvin, the fugitive who allegedly fled in his vehicle during an attempted traffic stop Feb. 7 and subsequently collided with two members of the motoring public before escaping on foot.
Orellana-Irvin, 30, turned himself into the Union County Jail the afternoon of Feb. 15, and he remained there at press time without bond being set.
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He is facing charges of probation violation and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer – both felonies – as well as misdemeanor reckless driving, driving without a valid license, no proof of insurance, and removing or affixing a license plate with the intent to conceal or misrepresent.
To recap, the incident in question occurred around 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, when Orellana-Irvin was reportedly driving through town. Blairsville Police Chief Michael “Bear” Baxter got behind his red Ford Focus to stop him for a tag violation.
Baxter initiated the traffic stop in the west-facing left turn lane of Georgia 515 at the intersection of Murphy Highway. The chief said that Orellana-Irvin at first appeared as if he was going to pull over while making his way slowly toward the four-way stop at Blue Ridge Street.
Suddenly, Orellana-Irvin hit the gas, speeding his way down the wrong lane of Blue Ridge Street toward Blue Ridge Highway, in the process hitting a passing motorist in front of Sushi Shack and damaging both vehicles. Baxter said that, thankfully, no one was hurt in the collision.
“When he got to Blue Ridge Highway, he ran through the intersection (heading west),” Baxter said. “At some point after striking the initial vehicle, the hood of the car flipped over the windshield and was covering the windshield. We terminated the chase shortly thereafter.”
Baxter said he ended the chase “due to the individual’s reckless disregard for the motoring public,” as Orellana-Irvin was driving with greatly diminished visibility and “at a high rate of speed.”
The chief said another reason he called off the pursuit was because he knew the identity of the driver, both from information obtained for the attempted stop as well as having had prior run-ins with Orellana-Irvin, so he felt confident the fugitive would be in custody before long.
“It just was not worth the danger of hurting someone or anything,” Baxter said. “We could tell he was very desperate, and we knew who he was, so we broke it off.”
Chief Baxter deactivated his lights and sirens and continued to follow the fleeing vehicle from a safe distance. Baxter witnessed Orellana-Irvin strike another car on Blue Ridge Highway while the hood of his car still covered his windshield. Once again, no one was injured in the collision.
“He went about a mile and a half outside of the city and pulled into a driveway just prior to Fairview Church Road,” Baxter said. “The individual jumped out of the car while it was still rolling and ran.”
And though Orellana-Irvin got away that day, the chief’s instinct about having him in custody soon proved correct, as roughly a week later, he turned himself in to law enforcement.
Orellana-Irvin is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
