OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – One man is behind bars after allegedly trying to run from both officers from the Oklahoma City Police Department and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Just after 4 a.m. on Monday, troopers say 21-year-old Robert Blakeburn was behind the wheel of a now beaten up Chevy Camaro.
“Fortunately, it was at the time of morning that it was, so, fortunately, we do have minimal traffic that was taking place at that time,” said Lt. Kera Philippi, with the OHP.
Blakeburn first caught the eye of Oklahoma City police officers early Monday morning for driving too fast.
Officers on the scene tell News 4 they tried to stop him, but Blakeburn had other ideas. He took off and led police on a chase that they say reached speeds of 140 miles per hour.
At that point, officers quickly called off the chase.
“It’s not only dangerous for the suspect, but for any other vehicles that are traveling, or if somebody’s a pedestrian and happens to be in the area,” said Lt. Philippi.
Surprisingly, Oklahoma City police told News 4 they later found out Blakeburn was listening to their every move during the initial chase through a police scanner in his car.
Blakeburn then led a state trooper on another chase.
“The Camaro made an illegal turn in front of him, he turned illegally into the parking lot. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, but he accelerated to about 80 miles per hour,” said Lt. Philippi.
Blakeburn took off again speeding down N.W. 23rd St. Troopers say speeds reached 117 miles per hour before his luck ran out on Overholser Dr.
“Shortly after he turned on there, he lost control of his vehicle and struck a guard rail,” said Lt. Philippi.
Airbags deployed, but Blakeburn was not seriously hurt. He was arrested and hauled off to the Oklahoma County Jail.
He faces a felony charge of aggravated eluding a police officer, and possession of an offensive weapon while committing a felony.
