One man fled the law for over an hour before crashing through the gates of a nursery, while another took the time to drop off his dog with a friend while evading officers.
While separate incidents, both men have two things in common: Neither had a license and both were indicted Friday by the Warren County grand jury.
The first fugitive hails from Smithville and faces a laundry list of charges. The fugitive, Travis Ray Stoner, 22, was indicted on charges of evading arrest causing risk of death or injury, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, running a red light, driving on a revoked license, speeding and driving without proof of insurance. He will be arraigned Wednesday before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley.
His charges come after Trooper Tommy Myers clocked him speeding on Highway 55. The trooper says Stoner accelerated his 1996 Monte Carlo when he fell in behind him and turned on his blue lights. What followed was a prolonged chase that would travel through Warren County and see Stoner make some dangerous maneuvers behind the wheel.
“He was passing vehicles on double yellow lines and heading into oncoming traffic causing vehicles to run off the road,” Trooper Myers said in his warrants against Stoner. The chase continued off road when Stoner slammed through metal gates at Simpson Nursery. Once on the property, he reportedly almost collided with a nursery worker on a tractor and caused several nursery workers to have to dive for cover to avoid being hit by his vehicle. Stoner was reportedly fleeing because he was driving on a revoked license.
The second fugitive, Gary Lee Lankford Jr., 40, was indicted on charges of evading arrest with risk of death or injury, possession of a prohibited weapon, and driving on a suspended license.
His charges come after Lankford fled from sheriff’s investigator Steven Carpenter who was trying to stop him on Bluff Springs Road. The chase soon entered Francis Ferry Road, which runs parallel to Bluff Springs in the northern portion of the county.
“The driver passed several vehicles in no passing lanes on Francis Ferry putting others at risk,” Carpenter said in his warrant against the driver.
The officer lost sight of the Nissan Maxima around Locke Bend Road, but then found the vehicle abandoned off C. Rowland Road.
Paperwork in the vehicle showed the car was registered to Lankford. Further linking him to the car was a witness who said Lankford took time to drop off his dog at a nearby apartment before running into the woods.
Lankford was driving on a suspended license, taken from him for failing to satisfy citations. Lawmen also found a pair of brass knuckles on the passenger seat.