Caleb Hart
(DOC file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 26-year-old Perkins man has been given a five-year prison term for attempting to elude and running a roadblock during a pursuit that began in Perkins and ended in Glencoe, as part of a plea bargain in which the prosecution dropped additional counts of assault and battery for hitting a patrol car and also being intoxicated in public.
Caleb Russell Hart, who pleaded guilty on April 16, was also ordered to pay $1,700 in assessments plus court costs at his sentencing by Payne County Associate District Judge Michael Kulling last week.
Hart had surrendered to authorities after crashing his pickup and inadvertently disclosing his location to Payne County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Nack, who had texted him “In Glencoe where u at,” an affidavit said.
Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Zack Pruitt was on patrol on April 2, 2023, at 11:47 pm when he saw a white pickup truck traveling south on Sadler Road from Highway 33 with defective tag lights and attempted a traffic stop on Kirk Street east of Sadler, an affidavit said.
After the deputy activated his emergency lights, “Caleb swerved back and forth crossing the center dividing line several times,” before beginning to run stop signs, the affidavit said.
“Shortly after crossing Union, Caleb realized 92nd dead-ends, so he came to a stop, put the vehicle in reverse, and began to back up in the middle of the roadway. I attempted to stop my patrol vehicle and put it in the ditch to avoid colliding with Caleb.
“As I was entering the ditch, Caleb turned his vehicle, so the driver side rear bumper struck the driver side of my front bumper. After Caleb struck my vehicle, he drove westbound on 92nd, again failing to yield or stop at the stop signs at Union and Prairie. After turning northbound on Prairie, Caleb failed to yield or stop at the stop sign at 68th St., 56th St., and Hwy. 51.
“A Stillwater police officer was sitting at Hwy. 51 and Prairie; he was able to deploy a spike strip that punctured at least one of Caleb’s tires. Continuing northbound on Prairie, Caleb failed to yield or stop at the stop sign at McElroy.
“Shortly after crossing McElroy, the siren on my patrol vehicle stopped working, so I pulled over to let Perkins Police Officer Spencer Gedon and Sgt. Don Howard continue the pursuit,” until it was discontinued in the area of Ripley Rd. and Yost Rd., the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
“Since one or more of Caleb’s tires had been punctured, we drove the area after discontinuing the pursuit to ensure Caleb had not wrecked his vehicle;” at 12:18 am, Deputy Patricia Benavidez found the suspect’s pickup unoccupied and upside down in the roadway on Burkhart with one flat front tire and the other just a rim with the tire missing, the affidavit said. “We searched the area but were unable to locate Caleb at that time.
“After the pursuit had been terminated, Caleb was identified as the suspect by Perkins Police Officer Spencer Gedon. Lt. Dan Nack sent the last known phone number for Caleb a text message that said, ‘In Glencoe, where u at.’ At approximately 5:36 am Caleb sent Lt. Nack a link to his location at that time, which was in the area of Lone Chimney Rd. and Bethel Rd.
“Lt. Nack and I went to the location Caleb had sent. When Lt. Nack told Caleb we were there, Caleb came out of the tree line on the south side of Lone Chimney Rd. and walked up to the passenger side of our vehicle,” the deputy wrote in his affidavit.
The 5-year prison term imposed last week for Hart, who had been terminated from Drug Court for methamphetamine possession and other violations, was ordered to run at the same time as three concurrent 3-year prison terms he received on Feb. 6, 2024, for drunk driving on Feb. 19, 2022, at Mt. Vernon and Lone Chimney Rd.; for actual physical control while under the influence on Jan. 22, 2022; and for violating his probation on a 2019 drunk driving charge, court records show.
