A Ward, Ark., man was cited for two felony charges after leading authorities on a vehicle pursuit through parts of Independence County late Sunday afternoon.
According to the incident report, Independence County Sheriff’s Deputy Casey Martin was patrolling in the area of the Allen Chapel Free Will Baptist Church at 629 Allen Chapel Road when a motorist flagged down Martin at the church parking lot and told the deputy that a male subject heading east on Allen Chapel (Highway 14 East) in a silver Chevrolet Silverado with a ladder in the bed was driving “all over the road” and almost hit the motorist head-on.
Martin wrote in the report that he came upon the vehicle in question, parked on the south side of the road near the intersection of Hwy. 14 East and Edger Road. Upon approaching the driver — identified in the report as Sean Gordon White (pictured below), 40, with a listed address of Ward — Martin noted he found White asleep in the vehicle. The deputy said he knocked on the driver’s side window several times before White responded.
The report said White told the deputy he was tired and had experienced a hard day. When White exited the vehicle at Martin’s request, the deputy noted White’s pants were unbuttoned and sitting slightly below the waist, exposing part of himself. When Martin asked why White’s pants were so low, the report said White became irate, jumped into his truck, and drove away.
And that’s when the pursuit started.
According to the report, the chase covered Highway 14 to near Oil Trough, and then on Highway 69 to the intersection of Highway 122, and then northbound on 122 toward Newark.
Throughout the chase, Deputy Martin said White drove in a reckless manner on both sides of the highway. At the intersection of Blackland Road and Highway 69, White’s vehicle hit a patrol unit trying to deploy spike strips and then hit another driver’s vehicle before he took Highway 69 toward Oil Trough, the report said.
There, near The Lunch Box restaurant, another deputy deployed spike strips, which penetrated the driver’s side front tire, eventually causing it to deflate.
White’s vehicle continued to Newark, meandering through the town until stopping at the Fourth Street Apartments where he was taken into custody and transported to the Independence County Jail.
White was cited for two felonies: aggravated assault and fleeing from law enforcement.
Image via Independence County Sheriff’s Department
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