Police identify suspect in two chases Monday night; man remains at-large
Ottawa police have identified a man suspected of leading law enforcement officers on a chase with two separate stolen vehicles Monday night and also striking a porch and chimney of a home in the 300 block of West 11th Street.
Lt. Adam Weingartner, an Ottawa police spokesman, said the suspect fled from an officer attempting to stop a vehicle about 10:35 p.m. near Fifth and Walnut streets. The officer later stopped chasing the suspect due to speed and other factors. A short time later a Franklin County Sheriff’s sergeant spotted the vehicle near 15th and Main streets and pursued it into the county, where the suspect drove through a field and eventually back north on U.S. Highway 59 toward Ottawa. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper was also in pursuit.
Weingartner said after striking vehicle deflation devices on the street the suspect continued north on Main Street. Eventually the vehicle struck a light pole and drove through Kanza Park before crashing into the house on 11th Street.
Weingartner said the suspect then ran from the vehicle and stole a second vehicle from residents of the house he had crashed into. The suspect drove west through several yards before leaving the city. Police recovered the first vehicle, which was reported stolen May 30 from Merriam.
“Property recovered from the vehicle identified a possible suspect. The name is not being released at this time,” Weingartner said.