The man who led authorities on a three county pursuit Wednesday afternoon has been arrested.
35-year-old Howard Eugene Brown of Green Acre Drive, Smithville, was found at home with this wife Wednesday evening and taken into custody, according to the De Kalb County Sheriff's Department. He had apparently returned home on foot after crashing and bailing out of the pickup truck he was driving.
During questioning, Brown admitted that he was the man police were chasing in a three-county pursuit on Wednesday. Van Buren County officials who have interviewed Brown, plan to charge him with driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, and evading arrest . Other charges may also be brought against him. According to De Kalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray, Brown is on probation for criminal impersonation, theft, aggravated criminal trespassing.
The pursuit began in Van Buren County. White County authorities joined Van Buren County and notified DeKalb County. As the chase continued, police put out a spike strip which blew the tires of the vehicle out. The truck then sped out of control and struck a guardrail on Bright Hill Road in Van Buren County. Brown bailed out the drivers side door of the truck, jumped over the guardrail and disappeared into the woods on foot.
After his arrest, Brown told investigators that he had just finished shooting up drugs right before the officer stopped to check on him, according to police.
Smithville Elementary School, which is in the area of the search, was placed on lock down status until dismissal time as a precaution. Initially, At first, Van Buren County authorities thought the suspect was another man.Arrest Made in Three-county Police Pursuit