Alabama Police: High speed chase leads to arrest of man responsible for November killing

Published 6:07 am Friday, January 29, 2021

Police say a man who led officers on a high-speed chase Thursday, shot and killed a woman inside her house last November.

Mobile Police said Lashaun Lamar Pruitt, 19, is responsible for the Nov. 1, 2020, death of April Ruggs, 41, who was wounded when Pruitt shot into a house on Farnell Drive. Ruggs later died from wounds suffered in the shooting.

Officials say Pruitt led officers on a chase reaching speeds of 100 mph after detectives spotted Pruitt driving a Ford Mustang on Michigan Avenue Thursday afternoon. Investigators attempted to stop the car when Pruitt took off.

Pruitt and a passenger in the car fled on foot after Pruitt crashed the car in a ditch. Pruitt and Khalijah Clark, the passenger in the car, were taken into custody.

Pruitt was charged with murder, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, discharging a firearm into an unoccupied vehicle, reckless endangerment, attempting to elude, no pistol permit, trafficking in stolen identities and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

Clark has been charged with tampering with a witness, carrying a pistol without a permit, and attempting to elude.