KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The man involved in a pursuit and standoff with Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies last week has been charged.
Larry Finley, born in 1959, is charged with aggravated fleeing a stop or detention.
Deputies first spotted Finley’s gray Chevrolet Impala Friday afternoon heading northbound on 69 Highway near Lightburne Street.
Court documents stated the deputy noticed Finley’s temporary license plate, which appeared faded, worn and not to be “issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.”
A check of his plate revealed it had expired March 4 but displayed an expiration of July 5.
When the deputy pulled behind Finley, he drove aggressively to create distance with the deputy, per court documents.
Finley’s response led the deputy to activate their emergency equipment to catch up and pull him over near northbound 69 Highway and Nebo Hills Road.
He told the deputy he had recently purchased the car, but the deputy questioned the validity of the temporary license. The passenger stayed quiet.
Finley then grabbed a backpack and appeared to pull out a title, but he did not show the deputy before shoving the item back in his backpack
When the deputy asked to see the title, Finley refused and sped off.
The pursuit then began heading northbound on 69 Highway approaching Scott Road.
The deputy said they had to drive 118 mph in a 45 mph zone to catch up with Finley, per court documents.
Finley continued to drive faster than 100 mph with traffic present until he turned into the Pour Boys gas station and cut back to head southbound.
Still speeding, Finley narrowly missed a truck after running a red light near the intersection of 69 Highway and 33 Highway.
Near Edgar Petty Road, Finely avoided a set of tire deflation devices. However, he struck a second set near the intersection of Lightburne and I-35 southbound.
By the time Finley was entering I-35, his tires were “smoking and unraveling into traffic,” court documents stated.
Finley was able to reach speeds around 45 mph before pulling over onto the shoulder, where the passenger exited the vehicle. He then continued driving and ran over another stop stick.
While approaching 291 Highway, Finley was only able to drive 8 mph.
The sheriff’s office called in a Tactical Vehicle Intervention due to concerns for citizen and officer safety.
Finley ended up stopping with his vehicle facing north in the southbound lanes of I-35.
Staying inside his car, deputies said they heard him crying and yelling while holding a knife up to his neck.
Deputies contacted the passenger to help “resolve the situation peacefully.”
She said she believed Finley would not be taken into custody “without a fight” due to warrants out for his arrest.
Court documents reported a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper spent nearly an hour and 45 minutes on the phone with Finley, asking him to exit the vehicle.
Responding officers even contacted his daughter to help calm him down.
The passenger mentioned she was in the vehicle with Finley to deliver crack cocaine to a home north of the river before the pursuit.
While in his vehicle, deputies said they saw him smoke something from a small glass pipe.
Eventually, Finley fell asleep, which is when deputies took him into custody, being sure to remove the knife.
The surrounding area was shut down for the duration of the standoff and reopened once Finley was in custody. In total, the incident lasted around 2 1/2 hours.
Deputies said they found a scale and a plastic container with narcotics in addition to the pipe in the vehicle.
When detectives further questioned the passenger, she said she was frightened by Finley’s driving during the pursuit. She also admitted she had taken a “hit” of the crack as well as Finley, who had sold to her “often” since 2024.
Finley confirmed with detectives he had an 8-ball of cocaine in his vehicle at the time he was arrested.
He explained he fled the deputy because he would rather “die than go to jail.”
A court document filed Monday stated Finley is believed to pose a public safety and/or flight risk due to prior guilty verdicts as well as previous failures to appear.
At the time of his arrest, Finley was on probation for the unlawful possession of a firearm in 2023 and was on bond for two 2024 incidents — aggravated fleeing a stop or detention and operating a motor vehicle without maintaining financial responsibility.
Finley’s previous guilty convictions include manufacturing controlled substances, stealing and unlawful possession of a firearm.
As a result, the Clay County assistant prosecuting attorney filed a bond request Monday seeking Finley be held on a $100,000 cash-only bond. He was originally booked on a $75,000 bond.
Finley is being held at the Clay County Detention Center.
His arraignment is set for Monday afternoon.
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