Two arrested on drug charges following vehicle pursuit in Kansas
Jun. 19—PITTSBURG, Kan. — Two men were taken into custody on drug charges following a police pursuit early Friday morning in Pittsburg, Kansas.
The Pittsburg Police Department said in a news release that the pursuit began about 1:15 a.m. near the intersection of Sixth and Tuck3er street when an officer tried to stop a Jeep Wrangler that matched the description of a vehicle involved in the theft of a skid steer.
A pursuit ensued through the streets of Pittsburg and eventually south out of town on 220th Street to Pichler's Chicken Annie, where the fleeing vehicle turned north onto U.S. Highway 69. A tire-deflation device put out by a Crawford County deputy eventually got the fleeing vehicle stopped just south of 20th Street and its occupants taken into custody.
Police said bags containing a total of about 65 grams of methamphetamine were recovered along the route of the pursuit and inside the vehicle,
The driver, William F. Johns II, 24, of Pittsburg, is facing charges of possession of meth with intent to distribute, felony eluding, avoidance of a tire-deflation device, theft and misdemeanor possession of stolen property and was being held on bonds totaling $28,000.
His passenger, Zachary R. Winemiller, 30, also of Pittsburg, is being helkd without bond on charges possession of meth with intent to distribute, interference with law enforcement, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and alleged violations of parole. Police said Winemiller had been arrested Monday in connection with a shooting incident in Pittsburg that remains under investigation.
The stolen skid steer was recovered later in the day at address on West Madison Street in Pittsburg and the investigation into its theft remains ongoing, police said.
Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.
