Man arrested on a felony drug charge after fleeing deputy in vehicle, on foot
A local man was arrested Tuesday evening on a felony drug charge after allegedly fleeing from a Garland County sheriff’s deputy in a vehicle and running two other drivers off the road before fleeing on foot.
Brian Doyle Harvey, 39, who lists a Chancellor Lane address, was taken into custody shortly after 6:30 p.m. and charged with possession of a controlled substance, meth, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, felony fleeing in a vehicle, punishable by up to six years, and misdemeanor counts of fleeing on foot, reckless driving and driving on a suspended driver’s license.
Harvey, who also had a warrant for failure to appear, was also cited for speeding, driving left of center, failure to yield at an intersection, no liability insurance, viola- tion of driver’s license restrictions, improper vehicle lights and improper use of signals. He was being held on a $7,500 bond and was set to appear Wednesday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Grubbs was at the intersection of Oakland Hills Terrace and South Moore Road when he saw a red 2003 Ford Expedition traveling south on South Moore with a defective license plate light and attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle.
The driver, later identified as Harvey, allegedly refused to stop and made an abrupt right turn onto Lakade Circle and continued to flee as Grubbs activated his siren. Harvey reportedly ran the stop sign, passing a vehicle on the left that was stopped there and then turned onto South Moore heading north.
During the pursuit, Harvey was going up a hill at a high rate of speed, approximately 50 mph, and was met by two vehicles, one southbound and one northbound, up and down the hill. Harvey allegedly drove left
of center into the oncoming lane forcing both other vehicles to drive off into a ditch to avoid a head-on collision or being sideswiped.
Harvey continued north in the southbound lane with oncoming traffic present, Grubbs said, and then made another abrupt turn onto Charming Heights Drive without signaling and then another turn onto Chancellor Lane “at a high rate of speed.” He finally stopped in the roadway near the end of the lane and fled on foot.
Grubbs chased Harvey for about 20 yards before Harvey “slipped and fell” and was taken into custody. Harvey allegedly told Grubbs he ran because he knew he had a warrant. Grubbs noted Harvey had bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of intoxicants coming from him and he allegedly admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages a few hours earlier.
In searching the vehicle, Grubbs allegedly located a small clear baggie with 2.3 grams of what later tested positive for meth. Harvey reportedly told Grubbs he had some more drugs in his pockets, but Grubbs was unable to find any.
Once at the detention center, Harvey submitted to three field sobriety tests and Grubbs reportedly noted clues indicating possible intoxication on two of the tests. Harvey provided a breath sample which registered .02% blood alcohol, well below the legal limit.