Man Arrested After Police Chase, Accused Of Stealing Deputy’s Car

BRISTOL, Tenn. – A city man was arrested on a slew of charges Wednesday, a day after police say he led them on a cat-and-mouse police chase in which he managed to commandeer a deputy’s cruiser.
Kenneth Ray Clark, 43, of Windsor Avenue, was arrested around 11:35 a.m. at a business and residence on Blackley Drive in Bristol, Tenn.
The chase began shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday, when the principal of John S. Battle High School reported a man lurking on school property off Lee Highway just outside of Bristol, Va.
Washington County, Va., Sheriff’s Deputy Robbie Cruise, an eight-year department veteran who is the school’s resource officer, approached the man to question him. After a brief exchange, the man jumped into the passenger seat of an old Toyota, and a woman behind the wheel took off.
The car tore down Lee Highway through several red lights before plowing into a small tree near Walmart at Exit 7, police said. Both the driver and the passenger ran. Bonnie Grace Richardson, 23, of Camp Placid Road in Blountville, Tenn., was arrested nearby on charges of felony eluding and reckless driving.
But the man doubled-back to the Toyota and hopped into the driver’s seat and drove off again, police said.
With Cruise in hot pursuit, blue lights whirling, the Toyota then crashed into a thicket of trees near Exit 5 at the intersection of Lee Highway and Blevins Boulevard. While the car was still rolling, the driver darted out and into the woods. Cruise ran after him, leaving his cruiser’s door unlocked and the keys inside.
Soon, the driver scampered out of the bushes, right into the unlocked police car and drove away, according to police.
It is department policy for deputies to lock the door and take the keys along, said Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman.
“We’re going to go back in the next couple of days and critique the overall handling of the situation, to see what mistakes were made in responding to the call and what should have been handled differently,” Newman said. “It’s a good opportunity to review the situation.”
Newman said the man drove onto Interstate 81, heading southbound at Exit 5, got off at Exit 1, lost control on a curve and skidded 150 yards. He got tangled in an electric fence, over-corrected and almost smashed into a huge tree, the sheriff said.
He continued down Gate City Highway, took a left on Dishner Valley Road, a right on Young Drive and ditched the car in a driveway just outside of the Bristol city limits, according to Newman. 
Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Office lost track of the driver and switched channels on the radio so he could not listen in on their pursuit.
The cruiser was found about an hour later, with the blue lights still twirling, a bent rim and some minor damage.
“It’s obviously pretty stressful from the standpoint of what could have happened,” said Newman, citing the possibility of a crash in a high-speed chase. “It’s very much a relief to me.”
The cruiser also had a shotgun in the trunk, accessible with the ignition key. Newman said he is grateful it wasn’t taken.
After abandoning the cruiser, Clark is accused of stealing his mother’s car from her Reedy Creek Road home, which is about a quarter-mile from where the cruiser was abandoned.
After receiving several tips, authorities found Clark hiding out at the Blackley Drive home Wednesday morning, with the Grand Am parked out front, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.
He is charged with felony eluding, grand larceny of a vehicle, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving. An additional charge of grand larceny of his mother’s car is pending.
Clark is no stranger to the law. He also faces charges in Bristol, Va., and Sullivan County, Tenn., ranging from drug possession to falsely identifying himself to a police officer and evading arrest.
“He’s apparently pretty well known in the area for having had several brushes with law enforcement,” Newman said.
Clark is being held at the Sullivan County Jail awaiting extradition to Virginia.
Richardson, who police say drove the original getaway car, is being held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon. Newman said there will be an internal investigation into the chase, particularly about how the man was able to take off in an unsecured police car with weapons accessible.
“It’s easy to Monday-morning-quarterback the guy,” Newman said of Deputy Cruise. “But, the adrenaline’s pumping and there’s a lot going through your mind. We learn from our mistakes and this situation worked out OK.”

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