Man arrested after early-morning chase; precautions taken at elementary school

A foot chase early Wednesday morning resulted in the arrest of one Shawnee Mission man, deputies say, but a second suspect fled the scene.

Around 2 a.m. a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle near the intersection of 10th Street and Monterey Way for “traffic violations,” Sgt. Kristen Dymacek said in a written response to questions.

She would not elaborate on the nature of the traffic violations.

Once the vehicle stopped, the two people inside fled on foot, Dymacek said.

The driver, 20-year-old Darrian Stevens, was arrested shortly thereafter on suspicion of flee and elude, possession of marijuana and a suspended driver’s license, Dymacek said.

The vehicle’s passenger was not found and deputies are currently investigating the incident, Dymacek said.

Stevens was booked into the Douglas County Jail, where he is currently being held on a $3,250 bond.

Around 8:05 a.m. a suspicious man was reported near the 1100 block of Oak Tree Drive, said Lawrence Police Sgt. Amy Rhoads. Multiple area residents called police and officers set up a perimeter in the area.

Officers notified Quail Run Elementary School, 1130 Inverness Drive, about the call, which was in the area.

After the report came in, the school took a few security precautions, Lawrence school district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said in a written response to questions.

“In order to ensure the safety of students and staff, Quail Run secured its building according to its safety plan and restricted all access in and out of the school,” she said.

Rhoads said the suspicious man was then found and arrested on suspicion of criminal trespassing, felony obstruction and for an outstanding warrant out of Wyandotte County. She did not immediately know if the suspect was in any way connected to the foot chase earlier in the morning.

Once police told the district the suspicious person was arrested, the school resumed its normal operations, Boyle said.

Dymacek said she was aware of the call near Quail Run, but, like Rhoads, she could not say if the call was related to the chase.

Additional information was not immediately available.