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| Merle Edgar Coke, III |
According to Henry County Sheriff J. Kent Oberkrom, a
suspect in the theft of metal from a business in Warrensburg, Missouri was
taken into custody after a brief pursuit on Highway 52 and Pricelane.
According to the Sheriff’s Office report, Deputy Lee
Hilty responded to Advantage Metals on Highway 52 just after 12:00 p.m. on
Wednesday October 16, 2013, to
investigate a vehicle on the property that had been reportedly involved in a
theft in Johnson County on Tuesday, October 15, 2013.
As Deputy Hilty attempted to make a traffic stop on
the vehicle at the entrance to the business, the driver accelerated to allude
Deputy Hilty. The suspect vehicle
traveled on Highway 52 towards Clinton.
Near the intersection of Pricelane and Sedalia Avenue, the suspect
vehicle swerved to avoid a collision with another vehicle and subsequently lost
control traveling off the roadway and coming to rest in a fence line.
The driver exited the vehicle and ran towards a
residential area. Additional law
enforcement officers arrived to assist Deputy Hilty. The driver, identified as Merle Edgar Coke,
III, age 28, of Clinton, was taken into custody by Deputy Kelvin Gaylord and
Deputy Lee Hilty.
As passenger in the suspect vehicle, JuLinda I. Hicks,
age 22, Holden was transported by air ambulance to a Kansas City Hospital. Coke was transported to the Henry County
Detention Center where he continues to be held in lieu of bond on several
felony charges.
