Fugitive arrested by sheriff’s office

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office arrested a fugitive on Tuesday who was wanted on armed robbery charges.
James Alvin Pressley, 32, Pendergrass, was arrested in Commerce after being located by an alert off-duty deputy who called for on-duty deputies to make the arrest. Pressley reportedly did resist arrest but was taken into custody after a struggle.

Pressley is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on the following charges: armed robbery, robbery, aggravated assault, reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, riving on the wrong side of the road and stop sign and yield sign violations.

Pressley had been sought for one week after deputies located him and attempted to arrest him on the initial charges of aggravated assault, robbery and robbery and armed robbery in connection with an incident that occurred on Dec. 28 in Arcade.

On Tuesday, Jan. 8, Pressley reportedly attempted to hit a deputy sheriff head-on in his patrol car, causing the deputy to leave the roadway to avoid the collision. A deputy responding to the call for assistance in Pressley’s apprehension lost control of his patrol car and crashed. The deputy was transported to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and was treated and released. Sheriff Janis Mangum met with the deputy an his family after he arrived at the hospital.

“Pressley is a prime example of those carrier criminals who steadily become more and more violent, jeopardizing the public and the law enforcement officers who engage him time after time,” Sheriff Mangum said. “I intend to see that the court is well aware of the violence, injury and expense involved in this particular case and will work to assure that it doesn’t happen again for a long time.