Wanted man tracked to home, viewer catches on-camera

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Two people were arrested late Thursday night after police chased a wanted man into a Lafayette house.

Around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Lafayette police said a man was stopped by an officer at the corner of Ninth and Ferry streets. After identifying himself, he ran off. The Lafayette Police Department (LPD) told us the man was wanted on an out-of-state warrant for parole violation.

Officers tracked him to a home on North Street where a woman and her five children live. At one point, the man tried to escape from the roof. Officers used a battering ram and a K-9 unit to enter the building. The woman did not cooperate with officers either and was taken into custody for harboring a fugitive.

Police said this type of situation is not unheard of.

"This is the type of police work we do, where we initiate a lot of the things and speak to the suspects in the crime areas or high traffic areas.  And that just happened to be where we were tonight. Things like this do occur in the city, it's not common in this area but it is common in the city. And to put people at rest, the city is quite big," said Ofc. Adam Mellady with the LPD Street Crimes Unit.

The man and the woman were identified Marquaze Johnson, 27, and Rachelle Billups, 33. Johnson was first taken to a local hospital after suffering injuries issued by the K-9 officer. He is also facing a resisting arrest charge.

Johnson and Billups are both being held at the Tippecanoe County Jail.