Flashing patrol-car lights, intended to pull over another driver, sparked a pursuit early Sunday that cracked a Cowley County vehicle-theft case from a day earlier, Cowley Undersheriff Bill Mueller said.
Brad Starlin fled from Butler County authorities around 4 a.m. when a deputy there attempted to stop a another motorist. Starlin was driving a red 2001 Dodge Ram pickup near Douglass when he inadvertently got between a deputy and the other vehicle.
When the deputy turned on his lights to make a traffic stop, Starlin fled.
Around 4:15 that morning, the chase led to Cowley County where deputies deployed spike strips to try and stop Starlin on U.S. 77 about five miles north of Winfield. The strips shredded the truck’s left front tire but the chase continued.
After driving another 2.5 miles, Starlin stopped.
Officers used the truck’s vehicle identification number to determine the pickup belonged to Valerie Ann Chambers. It had been reported stolen from the Cambridge area Saturday morning, according to a report from the Cowley sheriff’s department.
The truck had a tag on it that was found to belong to a different vehicle reported stolen in the Augusta area. Further investigation led authorities to believe that Starlin and a passenger, Tristan Lewandowski, maybe linked to other car thefts and burglaries reported in the Burden area.
Both Starlin and Lewandowski were taken into custody and later returned to Butler County.
KSOK’s Shawn Wheat provided information for this report
