OCP photo
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
GRANT TOWNSHIP — Oceana County sheriff’s deputies captured and arrested two fleeing suspects in two separate police chases Tuesday night, July 7, said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.
The first pursuit began around 9:30 p.m. when a traffic stop was initiated on Skeels Road near 72nd Avenue and involved the pursuit of a 34-year-old Montague man who was riding a Kawasaki KX100 dirt bike.
“After he was pursued on the roadway, he went off the roadway and eventually struck a tree log in the woods,” said Sheriff Mast. The suspect was not injured. He went through multiple signed intersections during the chase, said Mast.
After he crashed the bike and deputies approached, the suspect said, “Alright, I’m done,” said Mast.
He was arrested and lodged in the Oceana County Jail.
The second chase began Wednesday, July 8, shortly before 1 a.m. on 80th Avenue near McKinley Road and eventually resulted in the arrest of a 55-year-old Rothbury man.
The suspect initially called 911 indicating that he was “not safe” and asked to have an officer respond, said the sheriff.
As deputies responded to the address, he was driving a 2017 Ford F150 pickup truck near the home, he said. They observed the truck on 80th Avenue coming towards the location.
“The vehicle stopped in the roadway and then began backing up the roadway at a considerable speed. The deputy turned around and found the vehicle accelerating from McKinley towards Oceana Drive.” The deputy then pulled up behind the truck and activated his lights. The suspect fled and a chase ensued.
The chase lasted over 12 miles with the suspect fleeing on McKinley Road and then Oceana Drive through the villages of Rothbury, New Era and Shelby. During the case, unsecured items in the back of the truck flew out, he said.
“The vehicle failed to stop for any traffic controls at the intersection of M 20,” said the sheriff. “Near Oceana Drive and Buchanan, one of our patrol sergeants had positioned stop sticks and was able to deploy them.
“The suspect called central dispatch during the pursuit and advised that he was not going to stop. He then hit the stop sticks and changed his mind and told dispatch that he was going to stop.
“He continued a short while driving on flat tires and then on the rims.” He eventually pulled over near Filmore Road.
He was arrested and lodged in the Oceana County Jail.
Both suspects are charged with a felony of fleeing and eluding police.
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