MEMORIAL VILLAGES, Texas – A Memorial Villages man is accused of backing over his roommate and killing him before leading police on a chase that ended in a T-bone collision, all while possibly high on psychedelic mushrooms.
Memorial Villages Police Department got the call to a home in the 300 block of Tamerlaine Drive around 10:30 p.m. Thursday for an argument with a report of the suspect being suicidal.
Memorial Villages Police Chief Ray Schultz told KPRC 2 that when officers arrived, they saw the victim, a 76-year-old homeowner, come out of the house.
The dash and body cameras of responding officers then captured 34-year-old Mitchell Adair backing his truck out of the driveway at a fast speed, sending the victim through the air.
Court documents allege Adair then led police on a mile-long chase through neighborhoods at 60 miles per hour.
“The Villages has a murder or a case like this probably every 25 or 30 years,” Chief Schultz said. “A senseless crime ... It’s chilling to see the amount of force and the death of the victim.”
The 76-year-old man, whose identity is pending notification of next of kin, died at the hospital.
The police chase ended at Gessner and Broken Arrow when Adair allegedly T-boned another car. The crash woke some neighbors, who took video of him being arrested.
“The neighbors described them as roommates, possibly a relationship between the two of them, but it looked like they did have separate living arrangements inside of the house,” Schultz said, adding that they lived together for about two years.
Adair, who Schultz said may have been high on psychedelic mushrooms, is now charged with manslaughter, failure to stop and render aid, and evading arrest.
Schultz said Adair told officers he ingested narcotics and they found mushrooms in his truck.
Jail records show his bond is set at $500,000 for the three charges. Schultz said more charges are possible.
Neighbors in the quiet community are still sad and in shock.
“The best person, friend, neighbor, anyone could ever ask for,” next-door neighbor Richard Peterson said. “We would never expect anything like this to happen.”
According to Chief Schultz, the last homicide investigation in Memorial Villages was decades ago, possibly in the late 1970s.