Foley Felon Who Led Deputies on a High-Speed Chase in a Stolen Vehicle Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

MOBILE, AL – A Foley man was sentenced to 96 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon while leading sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle.

According to court documents, Jabari Maliek Stots, 28, was driving a stolen vehicle in the Mills area of Foley on the afternoon of November 19, 2024. Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to stop the stolen vehicle, but Stots took off on a high-speed chase. During the chase, Stots reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, blowing through stop signs and lighted intersections in residential areas, and narrowly missing several passerby vehicles. After deputies used a “pit” maneuver to immobilize the stolen vehicle that Stots was driving, Stots bailed out on foot with a pistol in his hand and ran through a field. A deputy fired a shot at Stots after observing him turn, with the pistol still in his hand, toward a tracking K-9 that was chasing him. The shot did not hit Stots.

Deputies and the K-9 continued chasing Stots through deep, standing rainwater that had accumulated in the field. Deputies repeatedly commanded Stots to drop his gun. The K-9 caught Stots and bit him, at which time Stots yelled, “I dropped it.” Deputies then wrestled with Stots to bring him into custody. Stots would not comply with deputies’ commands to surrender and tucked his hands underneath his body in the water to avoid apprehension. Deputies eventually handcuffed Stots and transported him to a nearby hospital for medical treatment for the dog bite.

Deputies searched the stolen vehicle that Stots was driving and found a small amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. A diver with the Daphne Search and Rescue dive team entered the water and recovered the .22 caliber pistol that Stots had discarded. In the days following his arrest, Stots made several recorded calls from jail admitting that he had possessed the pistol and thrown it in the water when he fled from deputies. At the time Stots possessed the pistol, he had prior felony convictions for breaking and entering a motor vehicle, burglary, and aggravated cruelty to animals. Those felony convictions rendered Stots’s possession of a firearm illegal under federal law.

In addition to the 96-month prison sentence, United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer ordered Stots to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will be subject to drug testing and receive mental health evaluation and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Moorer ordered Stots to pay $100 in special assessments and forfeited Stots’s pistol to the United States.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).