DECATUR -- A high-speed pursuit along Arkansas Highway 59 ended with a 2010 white Chevrolet Equinox crashing through a sign and into a culvert in Decatur on April 14, ending with the arrest or detention of the vehicle's five occupants.
At about 6 p.m., an officer with the Siloam Springs Police Department responded to a report of a careless driver entering his city from the east on U.S. 412 Highway. When the officer attempted to intercept the white SUV, the driver, later identified as Jerryon Montyz Steele, of Tulsa, Okla., fled from the Siloam Springs police officer, making a turn north on Arkansas Highway 59.
The pursuit continued through Gentry, where officers from that city and Benton County Sheriffs Office joined in the chase. According to the affidavit of probable cause, speeds reached were in excess of 100 miles per hour, with the SUV crossing the centerline numerous times.
There were five occupants in the SUV, four adults and a 17-year-old juvenile. All were taken into police custody.
The adults arrested, according to the Benton County Jail website and confirmed by the Siloam Springs Police Department, were Jerryon Montyz Steele, 20, of Tulsa, Okla.; Yi'Twan Ke'Ai'Reun Gipson, 18, of Tulsa; Terrance Rayshon Briggs, 18, of Tulsa, and Catherine Nicole Sullivan, 19, of Sand Springs, Okla.
Charges listed in connection with the incident included theft of property, theft by receiving and fleeing by vehicle with extreme indifference (all felonies), along with numerous other traffic violations. The four were being held in the Benton County Jail on April 15 with no bond set.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the vehicle occupants had, shortly before the chase, entered an Academy Sports store in Fayetteville and grabbed a large quantity of clothing, loaded the clothing into the white SUV and fled from the store.
General News on 04/22/2020