Suspect facing charges after high-speed chase

A Berryville man faces a lengthy list of charges after allegedly leading officers on a high-speed chase across the Madison County line in a stolen vehicle.

Jacob Odell Treat, 23, was booked into the Carroll County Detention Center in Berryville on Tuesday, May 25, on charges of theft of vehicle, fleeing, reckless driving, driving on a suspended driver’s license, failure to appear, hold for Madison County, criminal mischief, aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident, disregarding traffic signals, failure to yield or stop at sign and failure to use a turn signal.

Treat was arrested by Berryville police after allegedly fleeing when he wrecked a stolen truck at the conclusion of a chase that began after the vehicle’s owner reported it stolen from the parking lot of a Berryville liquor store, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Berryville police officer Brent Smith’s affidavit said officers were notified that the vehicle was traveling on Highway 21 South. According to Smith’s affidavit, Sgt. Nathan Knight of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office spotted the stolen truck on 21 South and advised that it was not stopping for his emergency lights and was northbound toward Berryville.

After the truck entered the Berryville city limits, the affidavit says, Berryville police deployed two sets of spike strips that did not succeed in stopping the truck. Berryville police Sgt. Craig Hicks then joined in the pursuit, the affidavit says, and the stolen truck turned west on Highway 62 and then turned onto Carl Street before turning south onto Huntsville Street and south again onto Highway 221 South. The truck then turned onto County Road 509 where, according to Smith’s affidavit, Knight said he lost sight of the vehicle momentarily and then came upon the truck lying on its side on Madison 1040.

Smith went to the location where the truck was found and photographed the truck, the affidavit says. Smith also found a cell phone on the road, according to the affidavit. The truck was unoccupied and it appeared the suspect had fled into a field, the affidavit says. While officers were awaiting a tow truck, the affidavit says, they heard honking and yelling on Madison 1040 and approached a vehicle occupied by two females. One of the females told the officers they had seen the suspect, the affidavit says. Officers could see a white male matching the description of the suspect walking toward them, the affidavit says, and Hicks took the suspect into custody. The suspect, identified as Treat, told Hicks that he was tired of running and wanted to turn himself in, the affidavit says.

In a separate affidavit, Knight writes that the pursuit reached around 85 mph as it approached the Paradise Heights subdivision on 221 South and that the suspect was driving in both lanes of traffic and passing multiple vehicles. By the time the pursuit reached Madison County, speeds had increased to around 95 mph, Knight’s affidavit says.

The truck had slid off the road multiple times and caused gravel to hit the front of Knight’s patrol car and crack the windshield, according to the affidavit. After Treat surrendered, Knight’s affidavit says, dispatch confirmed that he had outstanding warrants from Green Forest and from Madison County.

The day after the pursuit, Knight writes, he took his patrol unit to the county maintenance department to have the damage to its windshield inspected. At that point, it was discovered that the vehicle’s front bumper was damaged in the chase as well, Knight writes, and a local body shop estimated the total damage to the windshield and bumper at $2,000 to $2,500.

Treat appeared before Carroll County District Judge Dale Ramsey on May 27. Ramsey found sufficient probable cause to charge Treat and set bond at $250,000. Ramsey ordered Treat to appear in Carroll County Circuit Court at 9 a.m. Monday, June 20, in Berryville.

As of Monday, June 6, Treat remained in custody in the county jail.