OKLAHOMA CITY – A wild chase through the metro reached speeds of almost 150 miles per hour, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. It ended with a suspect in custody and the discovery of lots of clothing merchandise, possibly stolen from Oklahoma stores.
According to the OHP, it all started in Grady County when 27-year-old Javonte Barnes wouldn’t pull over for speeding. The chase roared up I-44 and into Newcastle before Barnes started for the downtown Oklahoma City area.
“Speeds I think at the highest reached over 149 miles per hour,” said Sarah Stewart with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
According to Stewart, Barnes then veered onto I-240 in south Oklahoma City. The speeding suspect drove on shoulders of the road and around other vehicles at stop lights as he went on and off the highway trying to lose law officers. OHP troopers kept him in sight but played it safe.
“There were multiple cars in this whole chase, and that’s one of the reasons we couldn’t perform a TVI because there were so many other vehicles around and we couldn’t safely do it,” Stewart told us.
Turns out, they didn’t have to perform a tactical maneuver on the speeding car. According to Stewart, as Barnes got off the highway and then tried to get back on at Western and I-240, he made a mistake.
“He ended up clipping one of our patrol cars and then spun out. That caused him to stop,” Stewart said.
State troopers with guns drawn approached the car as Barnes surrendered.
Inside the vehicle, Stewart said investigators found dresses and purses with the price tags still on them, leading them to believe they very well could be stolen.
A passenger with Barnes was not arrested Stewart told us on the scene.
The vehicle turned out to be a rental that was three weeks overdue.
Barnes was taken to the Grady County jail and faces charges related to the chase.
