Oklahoma - Atoka County Sheriff's Car Stolen - Shotgun Stolen - Flares Stolen to Start Fires
 

By The Associated Press

A man who stole a sheriff's cruiser after being arrested allegedly used flares to start two fires in Pushmataha County Friday as law-enforcement officials closed in to recapture him.
Those fires were among a handful fought across the state as firefighters braced for what they expect to be a busy day on Saturday.

Firefighters dealt with 17 small fires on Friday, Norvell said. By Friday evening, 14 were under control.

"We're getting on them quickly and getting them out," Norvell said.

The most bizarre of the fires occurred near Moyers in Pushmataha County, in southeast Oklahoma. Sheriff Jim Duncan said they were set by a man who had escaped arrest in Atoka County by stealing a deputy's car.

Duncan said Marshall Ray Hogan, 21, of Atoka, was wanted in Atoka County on a felony warrant. Atoka County sheriff's deputy Troy Binnebose said he arrested Hogan Friday morning and placed him in the front seat of his cruiser.

"I cuffed him behind his back, but he slipped the cuffs under his butt and got them in front," Binnebose said. "Then he slid over and started driving."

Authorities chased Hogan into neighboring Pushmataha County, Duncan said. Hogan crossed the Kiamichi River and took the cruiser off paved roads onto a country trail, Duncan said, where one of the car's tires went flat.

Hogan abandoned the car, Duncan said, but took several items, including a shotgun and flares.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol dog units took about 15 minutes to locate Hogan, Duncan said. Before his capture, Hogan set small fires using the flares, Duncan said.

"It would be funny if it wasn't for that," Duncan said.

Hogan faces arson charges in Pushmataha County as well as other charges in Pushmataha and Atoka counties. Hogan was being held in the Atoka County Jail with bail set at $200,000, authorities said.

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