A former college football player from Kennesaw was arrested Monday after authorities said he held his family at gunpoint in Cartersville, then led officers on a car chase that ended on I-75.
Elisha Linley, 23, was taken into custody just before 8:30 a.m. near mile marker 209 on I-75 South, Cartersville police spokesman Lt. R.D. Albright said in a statement. The suspect was initially pursued by Cartersville police, but Bartow County sheriff’s deputies joined the chase and one of them performed a PIT maneuver on Linley’s car as he attempted to get on the interstate.
Officers were called to a home on Clearview Drive after getting reports of a man holding his family at gunpoint, Albright said. No other details were released about the circumstances around the initial incident. While authorities were en route, they learned Linley had left the house with multiple guns.
When officers arrived at the scene, Linley was still in the driveway in a car, Albright said. Police said they gave him commands to get out and surrender his weapons, but he drove away. Officers and deputies chased him until Linley’s car was stopped and he was arrested.
Linley was taken into custody without further incident, Albright said. He was booked into the Bartow jail on two counts each of false imprisonment and aggravated assault with a gun, as well as one felony count of fleeing from police and other gun and traffic charges.
Linley was a standout high school football player at North Cobb in Kennesaw and went on to play defensive back at Presbyterian College, according to the college’s athletics website. He won multiple scholar-athlete awards while in high school.
About the Author
