photo by: Johnson County Sheriff's Office

John James Krueger

A 37-year-old Overland Park man was taken into custody after allegedly leading authorities on a sprawling pursuit through Lawrence on Saturday evening in a vehicle that was reportedly stolen out of Kansas City.

According to a social media post by the Lawrence Police Department on Sunday afternoon, the vehicle’s owner used GPS to track it through several cities, including Lawrence. After receiving multiple reports of its whereabouts in the city, Lawrence officers spotted the vehicle around 7 p.m. parked near a business at 27th and Iowa streets. Businesses in the area include Dick’s Sporting Goods and Ulta Beauty.

Officers witnessed a man running toward the vehicle “with what appeared to be stolen property” from a store, the post read, adding that the suspect initiated a vehicle pursuit after disregarding commands to stop.

The man fled the parking lot and traveled west through a nearby neighborhood, allegedly driving through yards in the area of 28th Street and Lockridge Drive. The pursuit continued east on 31st Street, north on Iowa Street, and back east on Bob Billings Parkway. With the assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, a “tactical vehicle intervention” was successfully performed just west of Naismith Drive and Irving Hill Road, and a man was taken into custody.

At the arrest scene, according to the social media post, the suspect allegedly provided officers with false identification.

According to jail logs, Thomas Gregory Scott was initially booked in connection with a variety of offenses, but the name was later changed to list the arrest of John James Krueger, 37, of Overland Park. According to jail booking logs, Krueger was booked into the Douglas County Jail on Saturday evening on suspicions including theft, possession of stolen property, fleeing or attempting to elude in commission of a felony, failure to stop at accident (scene), interference with a law enforcement officer, and possession of drugs.

The social media post said that police are continuing to investigate the incident.

Krueger has convictions in Johnson County, Kansas, for two counts of felony drug distribution in 2010, and in Clay County Missouri, for felony domestic assault in 2021, according to court records.