photo by: Kansas Department of Corrections

Russell Dean Baston

A Lawrence man who was on parole for fleeing from police and other crimes was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly led law enforcement on a pursuit west of Eudora, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

The Douglas County Jail booking logs show that Russell Dean Baston, 55, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of multiple felonies: fleeing and eluding law enforcement, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and drug possession.

In a news release, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman George Diepenbrock said a deputy had asked for backup in investigating a possible stolen vehicle in Eudora shortly after noon on Tuesday. but the vehicle eventually fled from deputies and Eudora police officers.

The vehicle headed west from Eudora while being chased by law enforcement, Diepenbrock said, and a deputy was eventually able to stop it using a tactical vehicle intervention in the 1900 block of North 1400 Road, about 3 miles west of Eudora. The maneuver involves a deputy using their own vehicle to strike the fleeing vehicle near the back wheel in an effort to force it to spin and come to a stop.

Diepenbrock said that Baston was taken into custody after the chase without further incident.

Baston has numerous felony convictions in Douglas County, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. Most recently, he was convicted in 2021 of fleeing from police, criminal damage to property and interference with law enforcement, and the Department of Corrections records show that he was on parole for those convictions when he was arrested Tuesday. In 2017, he was convicted on felony charges of possession of a firearm, criminal damage and theft. He has additional convictions dating back to 1995 that include aggravated robbery, burglary, theft and aggravated escape from custody.

Baston is being held at the Douglas County Jail without bond.