Police chase, use stun gun on Forsyth woman ‘acting strange’ at north Macon church

A Forsyth woman led deputies on a 15-mile chase that began outside a north Macon church Monday morning and ended with her being subdued with a stun gun in Monroe County.

Gwendolyn Powell was sitting in her car outside Mabel White Baptist Church on Bass Road just after 10 a.m. when deputy Glen Wilkes drove up to check on her, according to a Bibb County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Someone at the church had called 911 to report the 44-year-old woman was acting suspicious.

The deputy asked Powell if she was OK.

Powell, at the wheel of her car, did not respond.

“She was acting strange and irrational,” the news release said. So, the deputy asked for her license “and she rolled up her window and began driving away.”

Powell drove erratically onto Bass Road and got on Interstate 75 north, ignoring the deputy’s blue lights and sirens, according to the news release.

Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Michael Burns joined in the chase and tried to stop Powell’s car with a PIT maneuver, but she regained control and kept fleeing.

Finally, near the exit for Ga. 18 in Forsyth, Powell jumped out of the car and ran. Burns shot Powell with a stun gun and, after a brief struggle, arrested her.

Powell of, Josey Road in Forsyth, was checked out at the Medical Center, Navicent Health, and released.

She was booked in the Bibb County jail about 11:30 a.m., records show.

Powell faces charges including aggressive driving, fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement officers and willful obstruction of law enforcement officers. She remained in jail late Monday on a $7,200 bond.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Police chase, use stun gun on Forsyth woman ‘acting strange’ at north Macon church."