Cove Man Leads Deputies on High Speed Pursuit Into Oklahoma

BY MELANIE BUCK –

Polk County Sheriff’s deputies were involved in a high-speed pursuit around 10:30 p.m. on Monday night [February 8, 2016] following an attempted stop. Deputy Seth Smith said that Timothy Glen Bailey, age 38 of Cove, and a description of his vehicle, a white Honda car, were called in after being seen stopping in front of a residence and speeding off. The owner of the residence has had suspicious fires at the residence and called Bailey into police because of that reason.

Upon receiving the call, dispatch ran Bailey’s name through their system and it came back that he was wanted on a parole warrant. Deputy Smith, along with Deputies Cannon and Jewell, met on Highway 4, just outside of Cove. As Smith drove to a local business, Cannon drove toward the Oklahoma state line and sighted Bailey. Smith pulled Bailey over at the old Cove school and approached the vehicle. As Smith approached, Bailey stuck his head and arm out of the window and asked Deputy Smith, “What do you want?” After refusing to exit the vehicle and yelling expletives at Deputies Smith and Jewell, Bailey sped off, initiating the pursuit on Highway 4 West.

Approximately two miles down the road, Deputy Cannon had positioned his patrol unit in the road in an attempt to stop the fleeing subject. However, Cannon had to quickly leave the roadway when Bailey attempted to intentionally hit the patrol unit. Just a little further down the road, Bailey stopped in the middle of the road, and Deputy Jewell pulled his vehicle in front of the subject’s car, only to have Bailey almost collide with him. All three units continued the pursuit into Oklahoma.

During the pursuit while speeds were clocked at over 100 mph, deputies witnessed Bailey continuously reaching into the passenger floorboard. He also grabbed an American flag from the passenger side and threw it out of the driver window before ‘flipping off’ the deputies. Twice during the pursuit, Bailey “locked up his brakes in an attempt to get pursuing units to rear end him causing an accident,” Smith’s report states.

When the vehicles reached the Mountain Fork Bridge, after an 11.9 mile pursuit, Bailey stopped his vehicle and stepped out of the car with a gun and began to walk west on the bridge. Deputy Jewell gave commands to Bailey via his PA system to put the gun down. “Bailey continued to walk away from us and was drinking a beer,” the report said. After walking approximately 100 yards more, Bailey laid the gun down and took a few steps from it before turning and kicking the gun off of the bridge. At this point, Deputy Cannon was able to apprehend the subject and they awaited Oklahoma Highway Patrol to take custody of Bailey.

When Bailey was tested for blood alcohol content, his level was a .086, well above the legal limit. Deputy Cannon also collected the gun from under the bridge where Bailey had kicked it. It was found with the barrel pointing up and the butt of the gun was stuck in the ground. There were three rounds of ammunition found in the gun, one being in the chamber. More ammunition was found inside the vehicle.

Polk County is requesting warrants for Reckless Driving, Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer (2 counts), Fleeing, and Possession of Firearm by Certain Persons, all felonies. Law enforcement will also seek misdemeanor charges of DWI, Suspended Drivers License, Operating a Motor Vehicle with no Liability Insurance, and Improper Use of Tag, Title, or Registration.

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

See author's posts