A Fayetteville man was arrested Saturday after police say he led them on a high-speed chase through Northwest Arkansas before breaking an officer’s wrist during apprehension.
Police estimate the suspect caused $5,150 in damages to several properties during the chase.
Robbie James Kirk, 36, was booked into the Benton County Jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, fleeing, criminal mischief, domestic battery and reckless driving. He remained Monday in jail on $25,000 bond, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
A Lowell police officer said he attempted to pull Kirk’s green Hyundai Elantra over after seeing him swerving in his lane on Highway 71. Kirk first started to pull over, then got back onto the roadway and pulled into a Kum & Go convenience store on West Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers, where he continued moving, according to a probable cause affidavit written by a responding officer.
Kirk stopped for a few seconds, before speeding off down the road at 60 miles per hour, the officer said. The suspect allegedly used his emergency brake to make several turns, before spinning 180 degrees in a front yard at 1441 W. Pleasant Grove Road. He then continued driving in the 40-miles-per-hour speed zone at 60 miles per hour, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The suspect drove through a red light before turning onto Honeysuckle Lane, then Stoney Point Drive, followed by Broadway Street. Kirk drove through a backyard before possibly trying to ram a police car in another home’s front yard, the affidavit states.
After the vehicle traveled through a few more yards, the car’s passenger jumped out and laid on the ground, while the suspect continued in the vehicle, the report states. The passenger, Robert Kellogg Koonz, allegedly told police he drank a pint of “Hot Damn” liquor and his head hurt from hitting a curb when he jumped from the vehicle. He said the driver’s name was Robbie Kirk and he didn’t know why the suspect was running from police.
Koonz had a warrant for his arrest out of Springdale, and he was arrested.
Police later found Kirk’s vehicle abandoned about one-quarter mile from where the passenger jumped out. A local resident called 911 later that day to report that a man matching Kirk’s description had knocked on her door and requested to use her phone.
Benton County deputies and Rogers police responded to the home and found Kirk inside. After wrestling with officers who were attempted to arrest him, Kirk was successfully handcuffed, but a corporal broke his wrist in the altercation, according to the affidavit.
Kirk is a parolee on active supervision, with an extensive criminal history that includes arrests between 2004 and 2012 on suspicion of various charges associated with drugs, guns, alcohol and violence.
