A Barton County man on a motorcycle led officers on a 45-minute pursuit in Barton and Rush counties Friday evening before running out of gas, according to Captain Josh Nickerson at the Hoisington Police Department.
Police were looking for the owner of the vehicle, but after the driver, Nicholas Curtice, refused to stop, the chase was on, sometimes reaching speeds of 125 mph as Curtice tossed suspected narcotics which were later recovered.
Nickerson said HPD Officer Ryan Conley observed the motorcycle around 8:30 p.m, on Main Street near Railroad Street. He “recognized it as possibly belonging to a subject currently being sought in reference to an earlier report of a domestic disturbance.” Nickerson did not disclose the name of that suspect, but said, “Officer Conley followed the motorcycle until he could confirm it did, in fact, belong to that subject and then attempted to stop the motorcycle near East Third Street on North Pine Street.”
The driver, later identified as Curtice, refused to yield and increased his speed, traveling north to East Seventh Street, then east to North Cedar Street and finally headed east out of town on K-4.
“At one point the driver of the motorcycle reached a dead end and Officer Conley took the opportunity to use his patrol car as a makeshift roadblock and had the driver at gunpoint. However the driver ignored Officer Conley’s commands and drove the motorcycle around the patrol car,” Nickerson reported.
“At one point the chase went into Rush County and Rush County Sheriff’s Deputies were contacted; however, the suspect returned to Barton County before they could arrive. During the chase, the suspect was observed discarding what was believed to be narcotics which were later recovered. The chase ended in the 1200 block of NW 140 Avenue when the motorcycle ran out of gas and the suspect was taken into custody without further incident.”
Curtice was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of controlled substances, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, driving while revoked and expired registration. The motorcycle was impounded and the owner, wanted in connection with the earlier report of a domestic disturbance, had not been located as of Saturday afternoon.
During the forty-five-minute chase, Officer Conley was assisted by the Hoisington Police Captain, Barton County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Rush County Sheriff’s Office.