By John Dobberstein, Editor
COWETA — One person was arrested and authorities are searching for his brother after a crash and foot chase that occurred in Wagoner County.
Deputies from the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 2-vehicle crash Jan. 22 at 6:48 a.m. on State Highway 51 near S. 385th East Avenue, near Coweta and identified a passenger in one of the vehicles — Darren G. Howard of Hulbert — as having outstanding warrants out of Cherokee County.
When deputies attempted to arrest him, Howard fled on foot across multiple lanes of traffic, prompting a foot pursuit, the department said. Deputies deployed a taser during the chase but Howard managed to escape into a wooded area. Multiple agencies and a sheriff’s K-9 unit attempted to locate the Howard but did not succeed.
A few hours later, Wagoner County deputies were notified the same vehicle involved in the earlier vehicle crash had been stopped by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on the Muskogee Turnpike. The same fugitive from the earlier incident had reportedly exited the vehicle and fled on foot, the sheriff’s department said.
Investigation revealed the driver of the vehicle, Howard’s brother David Howard of Hulbert, knowingly assisted the fugitive in fleeing deputies in the previous incident.
David Howard was arrested and taken to the Wagoner County Detention Center and booked on a charge of harboring a criminal or fugitive. The sheriff’s office will request warrants for Darren G. Howard for multiple crimes, “and his other associates for accessory to a felony crime.”
Anyone with additional information regarding Darren G. Howard or the incident is encouraged to contact the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office at 918-485-3124. He is known to frequent the Hulbert area in Cherokee County. Assisting during the incident was the Coweta Fire Department, Coweta Police Department, Wagoner County Emergency Management, OHP, Tulsa Police Department and Wagoner County E-911 Dispatch.
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