Stolen Police Vehicle Leads 16-Mile Chase, Authorities Say
POSTED: 7:22 pm CDT July 25, 2008 KHBS News
CLARKSVILLE, Ark. -- An escaped inmate from Oklahoma led police on a high-speed chase to the River Valley on Friday.
Josh Albright was serving 40 years for kidnapping a woman, tying her up and burglarizing her home in Grant County, Okla., 40/29 News reporter Jo Ellison said.
Authorities were transporting Albright when he escaped and allegedly stole a police vehicle, Ellison reported.
When an out-of-state police car zipped down Highway 21, Arkansas State Police Trooper Danny Nichols took notice.
"When I saw the Oklahoma plates, I knew something wasn't right because (the vehicle was) from Oklahoma and (the driver was) in Clarksville at 1 in the morning in a deputy sheriff's truck," Nichols said.
When Nichols ran the tag, it registered as stolen with escaped inmate Albright in the driver seat, police said.
Nichols called for backup from Clarksville police and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. Then, the pursuit began.
"When he turned onto 64, the other two units got behind me and tried to make a stop on him. That's when he turned his blue and red lights on and the truck, fleeing reaching speeds of 85 mph in the city," Nichols said.
The pursuit began on Highway 21 and lasted about 16 miles into Clarksville on Highway 64 before police threw spikes into the street, flattening the tires of the escapee's truck.
"His vehicle became disabled, so he pulled into the ditch on the side of the road, stuck his hands up and gave up," Nichols said. "That is a first for me, chasing another police vehicle."
Albright was charged with several felonies and will have to serve time in Arkansas before he can be extradited back to Oklahoma.