A Licking man is charged with four felonies following a pursuit Friday night that ended in eastern Texas County.
Roger E. Burgess, born in 1966, was sought by the Houston Police Department after he fled from an officer. Later, a deputy from the Texas County Sheriff’s Department spotted Burgess’s gold minivan with inoperable headlights headed to Highway B from Morton Road.
The deputy said he activated his emergency lights, but the vehicle continued eastbound on Highway B east of Houston at a high rate of speed, at times in the middle of the road or completely in the left lane, creating a hazard for oncoming traffic.
The chase — with speeds as high as 94 miles per hour — continued from Highway B to Highway AY, and the vehicle later failed to make a turn onto Ashley Creek Road, causing it to crash and become disabled. Burgess fled on foot before obeying the deputy’s commands to stop.
According to a report, the deputy found a white crystalline substance (41.5 grams) within throwing distance of a nearby gate. An inventory of the vehicle found bulk small empty bags and a weighing scale on the passenger side floorboard. A search of the vehicle also uncovered a bag containing a syringe and more bulk small empty bags, according to the report. The substances field tested positive for methamphetamine.
The charges filed by Texas County Prosecutor Parke Stevens Jr are first-degree trafficking drugs, a class B felony; aggravated fleeing a stop of detention, a class D felony; driving while revoked/suspended, a class E felony; and resisting/interfering with a felony arrest, a class E felony.
Bond is set at $7,500 cash only.