Police: Rock Hill drug suspect pushed driver out of car during chase

A Rock Hill man was jailed on drug and weapon charges after a police chase during which he pushed a man out of a van and into the roadway, police said.

Kenthy Dawayne Hemphill, 30, was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, kidnapping, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, unlawful carrying of a pistol, failure to stop for blue lights, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine within proximity of a park, according to jail records. He remained in the York County Detention Center on Tuesday under $76,712.

Officers with the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit were preparing to execute a search warrant at Hemphill’s home on Stoneycreek Lane on Friday when they saw him get into the passenger seat of a van, according to a sheriff’s report. Deputies tried to stop the van, but it continued to Charlotte Avenue and Cedar Street, at which point Hemphill pushed the driver out of the van and into the street.

The driver told officers Hemphill held a gun to him and told him not to stop for police.

Deputies say Hemphill continued driving after pushing the driver out of the vehicle. They pursued him until he abandoned the van at the end of Haigler Street and fled on foot.

Officers arrested Hemphill in front of a home in the 300 block of Haigler Street as he tried to get into another vehicle, the report states. They obtained a search warrant for the home, where they found 7.5 grams of crack cocaine in a bag and a 9mm handgun under a doghouse.

This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Police: Rock Hill drug suspect pushed driver out of car during chase."