(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Perkins man — whose car crashed following a high-speed chase into Lincoln County — has been placed on probation for five years as part of a plea bargain, with an order to serve 90 days in jail for eluding Perkins Police Officer Kyle Howard, concealing stolen property and contributing to the delinquency of two minors.
John Thomas Sebree IV, 22, was ordered by Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler last week that when he is released he must have a substance abuse evaluation, follow any recommendations, undergo random drug tests, perform 150 hours of community service and pay a $100 fine.
At the time of his latest offense, Sebree had been free on $5,000 bail on four counts of concealing stolen property and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, all in Stillwater in May.
Sebree was jailed on $20,000 bail in late July for eluding the Perkins police officer, who sought a warrant for his arrest, court records show.
Howard wrote in an affidavit that about 9:30 p.m. on July 1, he was patrolling when he noticed a car with high beams pick up speed and turn onto S.E. Third Street.
When the vehicle went to Highway 177 south, “it failed to stop at the stop sign, disregarding any citizen’s safety and went south,” the affidavit said.
“During the pursuit on Highway 177 south, the suspect vehicle would pass vehicles going over 100 m.p.h. I followed the vehicle to the city of Carney, Lincoln County.
“I was still going over 120 m.p.h., but slowed my speeds because of traffic within the city. I saw the suspect vehicle pass a car, just missing a semi going northbound.
“When I got to the vehicle he passed, the same semi was blocking my path. I lost sight of the vehicle and terminated the pursuit,” the Perkins officer wrote in his affidavit.
“I was told by a vehicle (driver) that flagged me down that the vehicle went eastbound on Hammerpark (840 Rd.) and possibly wrecked. I went down this road about a mile, but did not see anything,” the Perkins officer wrote in his affidavit.
Later that night, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office found a vehicle near where the pursuit ended that was wrecked in the middle of 860 Road, two miles south of Hammerpark Road and seven miles east of Highway 177, the affidavit said.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Tanner Hand “sent me a photo of the vehicle’s rear with the lights illuminated and it matched the vehicle I was pursuing,” with Sebree’s tag, the Perkins Office wrote in his affidavit.
Sebree’s house was located less than half a mile from where the pursuit started, the affidavit said.
When the Perkins officer went to Sebree’s residence, Perkins Lt. Jason Galt “knocked on the door and yelled ‘police department,"” but no one appeared home, the affidavit said.
The next night about 6:45 p.m, “I was told by Payne County dispatch that John Sebree was at the Perkins Police Department and wanted to report his vehicle stolen,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Before I spoke to John Sebree, I noticed bruising on his left arm and two black eyes. He also had additional swelling around his face. It appeared to me that this was possibly from hitting his face on a steering wheel during the wreck of the Camaro,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
After again claiming that his car was stolen, Sebree asked, “Be for real, what am I looking at for this?” to which the Perkins officer replied he would seek an arrest warrant for at least eluding, the affidavit said.
“John hung his head and said he ran because he was afraid to go to jail. He stated he has six pending cases in Payne County. John did not elaborate as to why he thought he would be going to jail.
“John Sebree told me that as soon as I turned around, he knew he was getting pulled over and panicked. He also stated that he had a cold air intake system in his vehicle, and the vehicle maxed out at 150 m.p.h.
“John apologized for lying, but did not want to get in any more trouble and also admitted to endangering other people’s lives by passing them,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
In his statement to police, Sebree wrote, “I ran from the police because I was scared of getting arrested and I panicked. I didn’t want to serve jail time. I should have pulled over, end of story,” the affidavit said.
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