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Suspect charged after allegedly shoplifting, fleeing from police, then causing crash

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A man who stole more than $650 worth of Air Jordan T-shirts from an Independence Center store is behind bars after leading police on a chase that ended in a wreck and injured two children.

Friday, Jackson County, Mo. prosecutors charged Gary Butler, 32, of Kansas City, with three counts of second-degree assault and resisting arrest after he fled from Independence Police late Thursday night.
 
Butler and two others fled the Champs Store at Independence Center Mall with the stolen T-shirts. Officers spotted the suspects’ car and initiated a pursuit along 39th Street.

The chase ended a short time later when the suspects’ car crashed into an SUV at 39th Street and 291 Highway. Three people in the SUV were injured, including two children, who suffered a broken thumb, broken jaw and facial lacerations. The adult in the car suffered a broken pelvis.
 
In an interview with police after the crash, Butler said he was not involved in “theft related activities.”

We spoke to one man who said he was sitting at the stoplight when his car was hit hard. 

James Hart has some harsh words for the men he believes are responsible.

“We've all done some dumb driving in our life and bad things, but that was just another level of ding dong unsafe driving by an evil person," he said. "I'm just calling it what it is.”

Hart said he’s thankful more damage was not done.