Lawrence man, 32, accused of leading police on lengthy chase

A 32-year-old Lawrence man was arrested early Monday morning after a vehicle chase with Lawrence police.

Sgt. Trent McKinley, a police spokesman, said that at 1:15 a.m. an officer tried to stop a vehicle for an alleged traffic violation in the 2700 block of West Sixth Street, but the driver wouldn’t stop. The officer pursued the vehicle south on Monterey Way, and eventually discontinued the pursuit near Wakarusa Drive and Bob Billings Parkway.

Officers later spotted the vehicle on the South Lawrence Trafficway near Clinton Parkway, and officers put out stop sticks to pierce the vehicle’s tires. The driver made it to the 2400 block of Arkansas Street before the vehicle struck a mailbox, and the driver was arrested, McKinley said. No injuries were reported.

According to jail records, Christopher James Johnson was booked on charges of attempting to elude police, reckless driving, interference with duties of an officer, driving on a suspended or revoked license, no insurance and a vehicle tag violation. He was charged in Lawrence Municipal Court, given notice to appear in court April 25 and was released on $1,100 bond in the city case.

But he was still being held in jail on a Kansas Department of Corrections warrant because he is on parole related to four Douglas County cases, including a 2006 fleeing or attempting to elude police conviction.