A Joplin resident is in the hospital following a pursuit with Vernon County sheriff’s deputies early Wednesday morning.
In a post on the sheriff's office's Facebook page, officials said a deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on 1725 RD. The deputy was notified the vehicle was stolen from Joplin and the deputy called out the pursuit when the vehicle failed to yield. The vehicle reportedly pulled over several times for the deputy but would take off again shortly after stopping.
“The driver was not able to outrun the deputy and eventually pulled over and was taken into custody,” said Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher in the Facebook post.
Police identified the driver as 18-year-old Dustin Detherage, of Joplin, according to the post. Mosher said he was notified shortly after Detherage arrived at the jail that Detherage was being transported to the hospital after he reportedly told deputies he had eaten a bag of meth during the pursuit because he did not want to go to jail.
“He didn’t want to go to jail so he ate a bag of meth while driving a stolen vehicle, so I’m not sure how he thought that was going to work out for him,” said Mosher in the Facebook post.
Detherage had warrants issued against him on Wednesday afternoon, charging him with possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, tampering with a motor vehicle, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and DWI - drug intoxication. Bonds have been set at $16,000 cash only.
According to the post, Detherage was still in the hospital being guarded by deputies as of Wednesday evening.
------
