The pursuit to catch a motorcyclist fleeing from authorities came to a crashing end in Batesville last Thursday morning (Aug. 25).
According to the incident report, Independence County Deputy Sheriff Chris Stump observed a motorcycle on North Central Avenue driven by a subject known to have an active arrest warrant.
The man, identified in the report as John W. Arnold, 52, of Batesville, was pulling out of a west Batesville convenience store and headed south toward town when the deputy got behind Arnold and activated his emergency lights and siren.
The report said Arnold refused to stop and led Stump through several turns while also running some stop signs. When the pursuit hit north State Street, a Batesville Police Department patrol unit that joined the deputy in the chase passed Stump and collided with the motorcycle.
Stump then took Arnold into custody at gunpoint and placed him into his cruiser. Arnold was checked for injuries by EMTs and then was transported to White River Medical Center for a more detailed check, according to the report.
Authorities said in the report that a bag tied to the handlebars of the motorcycle contained eight baggies of a substance that tested positive as methamphetamine and one baggie of marijuana.
The 2006 Suzuki motorcycle Arnold was driving was also taken into custody as evidence. The report said Arnold was not the registered owner of the motorcycle.
Arnold was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. He was also charged with five traffic violations.
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