CARRIER MILLS – A vehicle chase, then foot pursuit, kept Carrier Mills, Harrisburg and Saline County officers busy late last night, and ended with the arrest of a man wanted out of Williamson County who was considered armed and dangerous.
At approximately 9:31 pm last night, September 23rd, a police chase broke out in Carrier Mills. Officer Duncan of Carrier Mills Police Department was the first pursuing officer.
Officer Duncan was situated at Casey’s General Store in Carrier Mills just before the chase, working traffic patrol. Duncan noticed a black 1997 Ford Taurus, and used his MBC unit to check the car’s registration, which came back belonging to a woman located out of Energy, Ill. Out of suspicion, Duncan decided to run the identity of the male driving the vehicle. The driver’s name was Troy Ash, 53, who came back as wanted on a warrant and considered Armed and Dangerous. Duncan approached the vehicle, and as he neared the rear driver’s side window, Ash took off.
Officer Duncan began the pursuit by car, chasing Ash for several minutes. Ash lead the pursuit in five circles around the East End Road area of Carrier Mills, which is a well-populated residential area of the town. At the end of the vehicular portion of the chase, Ash lead Duncan through a yard, and then abandoned the car. Duncan began to pursue by foot, but halted his foot pursuit for security reasons, and called in assistance. Officer Curt Hustedde with Harrisburg Police Department, as well as Deputy Agin and Deputy Gooch of Saline County responded and joined in the chase.
After assuring that the vehicle had been secured, all of the officers responded to a call from a home owner on East End road who had called in, reporting that she had seen a man run onto her property, which is a heavily wooded area. The owner of the property is located 5 blocks from where the chase by vehicle had ended. The property owner, who has requested to remain anonymous, reported that she had just gotten out of the shower when Ash had run through her lawn and into her woods. She stated that after calling in the trespasser, she had gone outside and aimed her cars headlights into the woods to help with visibility in finding him.
Upon arriving at the scene, the officers communicated with Ash by use of a loudspeaker. After communicating with him for a while, Officer Hustedde, Deputy Agin, and Deputy Gooch entered the wooded area and apprehended Ash. Ash had become ensnared in a briar patch, and couldn’t have exited the woods without the assistance of the officers who helped in freeing him from his self-inflicted trap.
Ash’s warrant for arrest was issued on March 6, 2012 out of Effingham County, Ill., for Violation of Probation which he was serving for DUI charges. The warrant listed Ash as Armed and Dangerous due to previous run-ins with officers, one of which was in the Dorrisville area of Harrisburg a few years ago, during which Ash grabbed hold of the officer’s arm that had pulled him over and proceeded to drag him along the road by his arm.
The vehicle Ash was driving belonged to his girlfriend, which he had apparently borrowed. Officers said that Ash smelled of alcohol, but did not seem exceedingly impaired and gave no reason to believe that he was excessively inebriated. As well as the warrant for his arrest, Ash has been charged with Fleeing and Attempting to Eluding Arrest, and driving on a suspended or revoked license. He is being held in the Saline County Jail.
Billy Duncan and Curt Hustedde, outside the briar patch where Ash was caught
Another view of the cops and the woods
Duncan’s patrol vehicle sustained a little mud in the chase
If they look somewhat smug, they should…the crim caught himself, basically.
