Lincoln Man, 55, Arrested After High Speed Chase

Dickie Spears, 55, of Lincoln, is facing several felony charges after he led police on a high speed chase early Sunday morning that started in Lincoln and ended in Fayetteville, according to Lincoln police Chief Russell Morphis.

Morphis said officer Chris Porter stopped Spears at 1:54 a.m. Sunday when he saw the suspect driving the wrong direction in the wrong lane on Wedington Blacktop Road, just off U.S. 62 in Lincoln.

According to the police report, Porter asked for a driver’s license and asked Spears if he had been drinking. Spears replied he had been drinking five or six hours earlier.

Porter asked Spears to exit the vehicle for a field sobriety test and Spears refused. Porter continued to ask Spears to exit the vehicle and Spears wouldn’t comply, Morphis said. Porter also cautioned the suspect against putting the vehicle into drive.

Spears put the vehicle into drive and sped off, with Porter pursuing. Morphis said Spears continued on Wedington Blacktop Road, drove east on Holt Road, turned around and came back to Wedington Blacktop and then began driving east on U.S. 62.

Prairie Grove Police Department had put out spike strips on U.S. 62 near the Latco plant in Lincoln. Spears drove over the strips and continued through Prairie Grove and through Farmington. During that time, Morphis said, some of the tires of the vehicle began to deflate and began to shred. By time the vehicle was going into Farmington, it was driving on one rim, Morphis said.

Porter continued to pursue Spears, along with assistance of Prairie Grove and Farmington police departments.

Coming into Fayetteville on Martin Luther King Boulevard, Spears pulled into a gravel parking lot located on the north side of the highway. Officers with Fayetteville Police Department and sheriff’s office also were on the scene. Spears was ordered to get out of his vehicle but he continued to drive his pickup truck, spinning in circles, spraying gravel toward the officers and their vehicles.

Morphis said an officer was able to break out one of the windows and a pepper ball projectile was used on Spears. After that, officers were able to get the suspect out of his vehicle and put him into custody. Spears was treated at Washington Regional Medical Center and then taken by Porter to Washington County Detention Center. He has a Nov. 6 court date in Washington County Circuit Court.

Spears is charged with fleeing, aggravated assault, driving while intoxicated, carrying certain prohibited weapons, reckless driving, criminal mischief first degree and parole violation, according to the website for Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Dickie Spears