Authorities say a law enforcement pursuit of a utility truck stolen Saturday morning in Marshall ended near Chillicothe after spike strips flattened tires on the vehicle and a 20-year-old St. Louis man was taken into custody. Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox said the vehicle came to a stop near U.S. 36 and Route CC where the man surrendered without incident.
Cox said authorities received a report of a stolen Dodge 4500 utility truck carrying compressed butane which was located by Carroll County Sheriff Bill McCoy. Upon attempting to stop the vehicle, it turned into a pursuit, with the driver of the stolen vehicle nearly striking motorists. The chase entered Livingston County proceeding North through Ludlow to U.S. 36.
At some point, the Missouri State Highway patrol and Livingston County Deputy Chris Mueller took part in the pursuit with patrol Zone Sergeant Doug Little using spike strips to puncture multiple tires on the stolen vehicle. The vehicle continued east on Highway 36 with a flat front tire and inner tires on the rear end going flat. The vehicle then hit a highway sign and damaged the front end of the truck to the point it was losing antifreeze. The truck came to a stop near Highway 36 and Route CC, and 20-year old Jeremiah Bailiff from St. Louis surrendered without incident. Bailiff was then turned over to Carroll County Sheriff Bill McCoy.
The Chillicothe Police Department assisted in the efforts, including blocking traffic for safety purposes during the pursuit and Cox noted the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol would submit reports to Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney Adam Warren for consideration of felony charges due to the suspect driving 95 miles an hour on a rural highway and allegedly running people off the road.
The patrol accused Bailiff of two counts of resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony, careless and imprudent driving resulting in an accident, and exceeding the posted speed limit by 26 miles an hour or more.
Livingston County Sheriff Cox said, fortunately, no one was injured and the only known damage was to the stolen vehicle and the highway sign hit by that vehicle.
