Douglas County Sheriff Ends Vehicle Pursuit by Ramming Suspect’s Car

In the early morning hours of August 31, Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase was conducting surveillance on a residence on the southeast side of Ava when he observed a vehicle driven by a suspect in several burglaries in the area. Sheriff Degase recognized the driver as Travis Howard, who is large scale methamphetamine distributor, as well as a suspect in numerous burglaries and has been in two prior pursuits with law enforcement in Douglas and Ozark Counties. 
Sheriff Degase followed the vehicle past the school where students were being dropped off for school. The vehicle pulled into North Casey’s where Sheriff Degase and Deputies Michael Schupbach and James Nelson attempted to pen the vehicle in to avoid a pursuit in the area of the school. The vehicle accelerated rapidly out of the parking lot onto Bacorn Street where Deputies were able to pull in front and block the vehicle. The vehicle began to reverse around the deputies when Sheriff Degase, “chose to end the pursuit to avoid placing the motoring public and the children around the school in harm, by ramming the back of the suspect vehicle pinning it between the patrol vehicles,” read a release from the DCSO.
Travis Howard, 39, of Gainesville and David Fisher, 32, of Ava, were taken into custody. Several grams of methamphetamine were seized from the vehicle. 
Howard was charged with delivery of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, and resisting arrest by fleeing. His bond has been set at $25,000 cash only, and if he were to bond, he would be on house arrest with GPS monitoring, be supervised by CPS, and be subject to random drug and alcohol testing. Howard was released from the Department of Corrections in June of 2020 and has 16 prior felony arrests, including multiple drug violations, burglary, tampering with motor vehicle, assault on law enforcement, and illegal possession of firearms. Howard was on probation at the time of the chase. 
David Fisher was charged with possession of a controlled substance, and his bond has been set at $5,000 cash only, and if he were to bond, he would be on house arrest with GPS monitoring, be supervised by CPS and be subject to random drug and alcohol testing. 
Both Sheriff Degase and Howard sustained minor cuts from broken glass when Howard was forcibly removed from the driver’s side window by the Sheriff. 
As a result of this incident, a search warrant was obtained for Fisher’s residence located on S. Mansfield street where additional methamphetamine was seized and marijuana plants that were being illegally grown. Four children were removed from the residence, and Karen Greenwood, 34, of Ava, was taken into custody with formal charges pending. 
Sheriff Degase released a statement saying he was, “was very thankful that the pursuit could be ended quickly to avoid a pursuit in and around the school.”
The Sheriff also issued this warning, “[When] COVID 19 is over we will be back serving search warrants in Douglas County. If you choose to partake in illegal drug trade you will be seeing the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office soon.”
 
edited by Amanda Mendez, publisher

 

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