A Hot Springs Village man was arrested Friday night on a felony warrant following a high-speed pursuit last month by Hot Springs Village police that was terminated after the vehicle left the village.
Shane Alexander Clark, 23, who lists a Santa Maria Lane address, was taken into custody shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday and charged with fleeing, punishable by up to six years in prison, and misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and driving on a suspended driver's license, each punishable by up to one year in jail.
Clark remained in custody Monday in lieu of bonds totaling $3,500 and is set to appear Aug. 21 in Garland County District Court.
According to the affidavit, on July 25, shortly before 10 p.m., police Sgt. Jack Herndon was dispatched to the area of Cambre Circle regarding the driver of a white truck who was spinning his tires and arguing with a resident there.
Herndon was told the truck had left the scene while he was en route and he spotted a white truck northbound on Carmona that turned onto DeSoto Boulevard. Herndon notes he was only about 500 feet behind the truck, but when he got to the intersection the truck was nowhere in sight.
He caught up with the truck on DeSoto and paced it at 54 mph in a 40 mph zone and noted it was following closely behind a car ahead, accelerating and slowing down "as if to make the vehicle in front of him move out of the way."
The car in front finally turned off and the truck continued west on DeSoto as Herndon activated his lights to make a traffic stop. The truck accelerated to a high rate of speed at that point and Herndon noted it reached speeds in excess of 94 mph as he pursued it to the west gate of the village.
As the truck went through the west gate, it almost struck a motorcycle also exiting the village. The truck continued at a high rate of speed after passing through the gate and Herndon finally terminated the pursuit. He noted it was a white Chevrolet extended cab pickup with Texas tags.
Herndon later spoke to the resident on Cambre who said he had heard a truck "revving its engine" and spinning its tires. He said a young white man got out of the truck at one point and was talking to the resident's female neighbor. He said he yelled at the man asking what his problem was and he "made some rude comments" and sped away.
Herndon spoke to the female neighbor who identified the driver as Clark and noted he had just purchased the truck in Texas. A computer check revealed Clark's driver's license was suspended.
Local on 08/15/2017