NEW CASTLE, Ind. — A Henry County judge rejected a plea agreement in the case of the driver of a Google mapping vehicle who allegedly led police on a high-speed chase.
Coleman Ferguson III, 37, of Indianapolis, was arrested on July 31, 2023, after he was accused of leading Landon Dean, Middletown’s police chief, on a chase with speeds that reached 120 mph.
Ferguson’s vehicle — described as being “Google wrapped” and with a large 360-degree camera mounted on its roof — had been observed by the chief as it drove past Shenandoah High School on U.S. 36 at “a very high rate of speed.”
The police chief gave chase, activating his vehicle’s emergencies lights and caught up with the Google car in the 8500 block of West U.S. 36.
Ferguson reportedly increased his speed to 120 mph, passing several westbound cars and forcing eastbound vehicles to swerve on the side of the federal highway to avoid head-on collisions.
More: Prosecutor: Charges considered against deputy involved in chase that led to fatal crash
The car continued west into Madison County, ran a red light at Ind. 109 and then went out of control as it approached Pendleton, going through a guard rail before driving through a yard and coming to rest in a creek.
According to an affidavit, Ferguson — determined to have a valid driver’s license issued in Florida — told Dean “he worked for Google and had no reason to run other than being scared,”
The Indianapolis man was later charged, in Henry Circuit Court 3, with resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony carrying up to 30 months in prison.
In late March, Ferguson, defense attorney Peter John Capofari and Deputy Prosecutor Kaitlin McDonald signed a plea agreement that called for the charge against the Indianapolis man to be reduced to a misdemeanor.
Under the terms of the deal, Ferguson would have received a one-year suspended sentence, and also would have been ordered to pay the Indiana Department of Transportation $3,220.87 for damage caused by the crash.
On Monday, Judge David McCord rejected the terms of the plea agreement.
A new trial date has not yet been set.
Court records reflect Ferguson in 2019 was convicted of driving while suspended, a misdemeanor, in Carmel City Court.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.