A Gassville man was arrested early Tuesday morning after leading authorities on a vehicle pursuit that spanned two counties, police said.
Dylan Lawyer, 25, was arrested in Fulton County following a chase that began on U.S. 62 East in Baxter County, according to a news release from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 6:30 a.m., Baxter County Sheriff Cpl. David Estes noticed a gray Chevrolet pickup truck heading east on U.S. 62 going 91 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone. Estes said he tried to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, but it refused to pull over and fled east toward Fulton County at a high rate of speed.
Deputies said Lawyer went through the Gepp community in a very reckless manner. At approximately 6:41 a.m. he turned onto a dirt road, where deputies temporarily discontinued pursuit.
Several minutes later, authorities would find the vehicle stopped on Enterprise Road, but Lawyer was no longer there. Deputies said they discovered the substantially damaged truck had been reported as stolen from an address in Baxter County. A handgun was also found in the vehicle.
Deputies from both Fulton and Baxter County, along with a canine tracking team from the Arkansas Department of Corrections and the Baxter County Sheriff’s helicopter, began searching the area.
Around 9:50 a.m., a white pickup pulled up to a roadblock and the driver was able to alert deputies that the person in his backseat was Lawyer.
The driver told deputies that Lawyer broke into their home in Fulton County and forced the elderly couple to get into the truck and drive him out of the area. As they approached the roadblock, the driver told officers that Lawyer was ordering the him to plow through it without stopping.
Deputies said they also discovered that Lawyer had attempted to break into another home in Baxter County.
He threw a rock through a window to try and get inside but was run off by the homeowner, deputies said.
Lawyer is facing a number of felony charges in Baxter and Fulton counties. He was taken to the Baxter County Detention Center and booked on charges of criminal attempt to commit aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, breaking or entering, fleeing, two counts of theft of property, possession of a firearm by certain persons, criminal mischief, and penalty enhancement of habitual offender.
His bond was set at $100,000 and he will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court today. He also has a hold from Fulton County for various charges.
Lawyer has been booked into the Baxter County Detention Center a total of seven times since 2011, according to the news release.