A Chicago man was charged with four level 6 felonies and five misdemeanors following a pursuit in Clinton County on Saturday, March 9.
On March 9 around 9 a.m., Deputy Nick Light with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office reportedly attempted to stop a silver 2011 Kia sedan with front end damage that was traveling at a high rate of speed through the Antioch area. According to authorities, the vehicle was traveling northbound on State Road 39 in Antioach and initially pulled over and stopped on Antioch Road as Light followed behind.
The Sheriff’s Office reported that once Light attempted to make contact with the driver, the vehicle performed a u-turn, drove through a yard and proceeded to speed off on State Road 39 once again.
Reports state that the driver, who was later identified as Lawrence Turner, 39, of Chicago, continued to drive northbound on State Road 39 before turning west onto State Road 28 in Frankfort. Authorities released that law enforcement attempted to deploy stop sticks in an effort to stop the vehicle that were unsuccessful initially.
The vehicle was then tracked to I-65 where it was involved in two property damage crashes, and officers attempted to deploy stop sticks once more, authorities said.
The Sheriff’s Office released that the damage to the Kia caused Turner to halt the pursuit and stop near the 181 mile-marker in Tippecanoe County. As officers arrived on the scene, they attempted to gain compliance before taking Turner into custody, authorities said. Upon search of the vehicle, authorities reported a controlled substance and a stolen handgun. The preliminary investigation that uncovered the substance and handgun led deputies to pursue additional charges.
The Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office officially filed charges for resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, level 6 felony, criminal recklessness with a vehicle while armed, level 6 felony, obstruction of justice, level 6 felony, theft of a firearm/possession of stolen property, level 6 felony, possession of marijuana, class B misdemeanor, operating while intoxicated refusal, class C misdemeanor, operating while intoxicated endangerment, class A misdemeanor, reckless driving, class C misdemeanor, and failure to identify, class C misdemeanor.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, a request for a federal prosecutor review of the case for potential federal charges will also be pursued by Investigations Lieutenant Dan Roudebush, a Task Force Officer working on violent gun crimes.
Cross-county departments were involved with the pursuit, including the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Clinton County Central Dispatch, Frankfort Police Department, Indiana State Police, Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office, Clinton County EMS, Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office and Joey’s Wrecker Service.
“Our community will not be a pass through for violent criminals traveling from Indianapolis to Chicago,” Sheriff Rich Kelly said. “Deputy Light does a fantastic job proactively patrolling the county observing for traffic infractions that oftentimes leads to the discovery of criminal activity.”
Kelly continued to commend his staff for their work in the pursuit through Clinton and Tippecanoe counties.
“Deputy Creasy did a fantastic job positioning to intercept (Saturday’s) pursuit, all-the-while monitoring Deputy Light’s traffic to ensure the safety of our officers and the community,” Kelly said. “I extend my gratitude to all the other agencies that jumped in to this pursuit to bring an end to this incident with as little impact to the other motorists on the roadway as possible.”
Kelly concluded by expressing his pride in the law enforcement collaboration that took place between the counties, cities and communities that the pursuit affected.
“Special thanks to Lieutenant Blacker and Deputy Hillman for coming out to provide additional road coverage,” Kelly said. “This is a great example of Indiana Law Enforcement working together to remove criminals from our streets and neighborhoods. Well done.”
Official charges are pending review from the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office, and other charges may be pursued through the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office.
All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.