A West Plains man was arrested after a pursuit with Howell County Sheriff Deputies. Deputy First Class Brandon Meacham attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle in Moody late Thursday night. When Deputy Meacham turned on his emergency lights, the driver turned on State Route 142 from State Route E, heading west. The vehicle then made a right turn into the parking lot of a convenience store, continuing behind the building with Deputy Meacham in pursuit. The vehicle then circled back to the front of the store.
At that moment, another Deputy from the Howell County Sheriff’s Office entered the parking lot with his emergency lights on and positioned his vehicle in front of the suspect’s car. The suspect’s vehicle came to a halt, prompting Deputy Meacham to brake suddenly to avoid a collision. Before Deputy Meacham could exit his patrol vehicle to issue commands, the driver, later identified as David Bennett, a 41-year-old resident of West Plains, shifted into reverse and rammed Deputy Meacham’s marked K9 unit, which contained both the Deputy and his K9, Roman. Bennett then shifted back into drive and fled the scene. Bennett narrowly avoided hitting another responding deputy’s patrol vehicle as he exited the parking.
Both deputies pursued Bennett on State Route E toward the Arkansas state line. Upon reaching the state line, Bennett attempted to turn right onto State Line Road but was unsuccessful, instead continuing south in the ditch. As he tried to re-enter the roadway, another responding Deputy, having witnessed Bennett intentionally strike two law enforcement vehicles earlier, attempted to terminate the pursuit by blocking Bennett’s vehicle from returning to the roadway. Bennett swerved back into the ditch and crashed into a barbed wire fence and ditch, leaving his vehicle immobilized.
Deputy Meacham witnessed Bennett crawling to the passenger side of the truck and attempting to exit the vehicle to escape. Mr. Bennett was subdued with a Taser and ultimately complied with law enforcement.
The Arkansas State Highway Patrol, Emergency Medical Services, and Fulton County Arkansas Deputies were notified of the incident. After Bennett was taken into custody and deemed fit for confinement, he was transported to the Howell County Sheriff’s Office. A female passenger was also present in the vehicle during the incident. The female refused medical services and was subsequently released without charges
Bennett was charged with Assault in the 2nd Degree against a Special Victim (two counts) and Resisting Arrest by Fleeing-Creating a Substantial Risk of Serious Injury/ Death to Any Person. His bond was set at $25,000.00
