Dangerous chase nets big charges
Mar. 8—A dangerous and potentially deadly pursuit coming into Garvin County now has a Comanche man behind bars on four felony counts and a triple digit bond.
Multiple state troopers were right in the thick of a March 1 chase that resulted in the arrest of Justin Clark, 38.
A court document shows the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and other agencies were alerted about the pursuit first involving Velma police on the report in Duncan of a stolen trailer earlier in the day.
Just after noon the pursuit came from Stephens County as minutes later a trooper spotted a pickup and trailer traveling northbound on state Highway 76 in western Garvin County.
"The driver was making apparent attempts to swerve causing a large amount of dust and debris to block my view," one trooper reported.
The truck, later determined to be driven by Clark with a male passenger riding inside, was abruptly braking to try and cause a collision with a trooper's patrol vehicle.
After turning into oncoming traffic the truck avoided stop sticks on the roadway set up near Shady Grove Church.
After going off road and into a field the truck swerved at and struck a trooper's car during a tactical maneuver in an attempt to get it stopped.
A second set of stops sticks did get the truck as the two tires on the passenger side were flattened.
Driving on flat tires the truck pulled into a private drive but later kept going as it again struck a trooper's vehicle.
When the truck was finally stopped the male passenger was turned over to Stephens County authorities, while Clark "continually apologized for the incident when he was in my custody," one trooper reported.
In the truck was a metal container with some marijuana inside as Clark was also driving with a suspended license.
When the case got to the district attorney's office in Garvin County the brand new defendant received charges that include attempting to elude an officer, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault by "means likely to produce death."
Clark was also handed a $150,000 bond.
