A Sebastian County man is scheduled to appear before a county judge Tuesday after he was arrested for leading officers on several chases throughout the area over the weekend, according to police.
21-year-old Dustin Moore faces charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, 2 counts of fleeing apprehension, theft by receiving, and resisting arrest. Authorities also added there was a warrant out for his Moore's arrest before he was taken into custody.
Corporal Patricia Sullivan with the Fort Smith Police Department said Moore was arrested after a lengthy foot chase Saturday night (Feb. 8) that ended near the 3100 block of Cavanaugh Road.
Moore led police on several chases throughout the day Friday and Saturday, according to officials.
Sullivan said it all started after an officer stopped Moore in a silver Mercedes SUV on Hwy. 271 early Friday morning (Feb. 7) for driving without headlights. Investigators said the driver was acting suspicious so he told the driver to get out of the SUV. Instead, the driver, later identified as Moore, sped off.
Police followed the driver on I-540 heading into Oklahoma at a high-rate of speed, Sullivan said. After several minutes, authorities stopped their pursuit.
Later Friday morning, employees from a salvage yard on Wheeler Ave. called in to report that Moore was on their property trying to get his car salvaged, according to a police report.
By the time officers arrived, Moore had already left.
An officer en route to the salvage yard, spotted the Mercedes SUV on his way and attempted to stop it, but Moore fled again.
Police said a tractor trailer realized what was happening and was able to block the fleeing vehicle. That's when the two officers got out to approach Moore who was still inside his vehicle, according to Sullivan. Moore drove toward the officers and maneuvered his SUV around them, getting away again.
Fort Smith Police said half an hour later they received a call from the Pocola Police Department that the Mercedes was found abandoned in their city. During the investigation, police found out the SUV Moore was driving had been stolen out of Lavaca a few weeks ago.
Moore was then found, and arrested on Cavanaugh Road about 8 p.m. Saturday night.
"I was the third officer on the scene," Andrew Dillard with Fort Smith Police said. "When we showed up he had already engaged in a foot pursuit with the other two officers. We went over several fences until we finally ended up in the Little Field Oil Company [along Cavanaugh Road]," Dillard said.
Moore was then booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center. His bond has been set at $101,200. He's scheduled to be in court on both Tuesday (Feb. 11) and Thursday (Feb. 13) to be arraigned, according to authorities.