Police pursue man with stolen checks, gun, suspected in Tonganoxie burglary

A man who tried to cash a stolen check at a Lawrence bank on Thursday and who was involved in two car accidents while fleeing police remains at large.

Police believe the check was stolen, along with a gun, from a Tonganoxie home during a burglary earlier that day, according to Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman. The man was reported to police while he was trying to cash the check at First State Bank and Trust, 3901 West Sixth St., about 5 p.m. Thursday, but left in a white Chrysler Town and Country van before police arrived. Officers spotted the van near Bob Billings Parkway and Kasold Drive and pursued it toward West Ninth Street.

Police ended the chase after the van was involved in a collision with another vehicle at Ninth and Pamela Lane, McKinley said. From there, the van was involved in a second accident with a vehicle at Sixth and Vermont. The driver left the scene of that accident and was reportedly seen headed east on U.S. Highway 24. No injuries were reported from those accidents.

Police describe the suspect as a white male, 6 feet tall and 260 pounds, with brown hair. They think he is in his mid-40s or mid-50s, and was last seen wearing a dark “Kansas” baseball cap, sunglasses and a red or maroon shirt.

Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to call the Lawrence Police Department at (785)-832-7509 or CrimeStoppers at 843-TIPS (8477).