An Arkansan on probation was arrested Tuesday after he led Missouri officers on a vehicle chase and then crashed in Baxter County, authorities said.
Mitchell Teconchuk, 21, of Mountain Home was apprehended a little after 5:10 p.m. when he wrecked his Nissan Juke near Arkansas 201 and Baxter County Road 484, a news release from Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said.
The Ozark County, Mo., sheriff's office alerted Baxter County authorities about 4:40 p.m. that its deputies were chasing Teconchuk. He was suspected of being involved in a theft in Ozark County and was driving toward Arkansas, the release said.
Missouri authorities ended their pursuit when Teconchuk crossed into Arkansas. A Baxter County sheriff's corporal saw the Nissan speeding south toward Mountain Home and gave chase, Montgomery wrote. As Teconchuk approached another lawman, he turned around and drove north on Arkansas 201, the release said. Authorities said he almost caused multiple crashes while passing in no-passing zones.
Officers lost sight of the Nissan at one point but soon spotted the vehicle after it crashed. An ambulance took Teconchuk to a hospital before he was booked into the Baxter County jail at 7:48 p.m. He is being held there without bail.
The sheriff's office had said it likely would file formal charges in the pursuit Wednesday, and Teconchuk is expected to be extradited to Ozark County.
Court records show Teconchuk pleaded guilty to forgery in 2014 in circuit court in Baxter County and was sentenced to three years of probation. This summer, authorities asked to revoke his probation after they were unable to locate him.
State Desk on 12/29/2016