The Oklahoma man accused of trying to steal fuel from a state vehicle before leading both a vehicle and foot chase in and around Emporia earlier this week has been formally charged in connection with those incidents.
Jerry Ray Brown, 43, faces single counts of felony flee and elude, felony obstruction of law enforcement, felony criminal damage and misdemeanor theft after he allegedly tried to take fuel from a Kansas Department of Transportation tractor near the Emporia Golf Course early Monday morning. After local authorities tried to stop Brown’s truck in the 700 block of South Weaver, Brown allegedly led a vehicle chase out of Emporia before returning to town and crashing into a light pole at South Commercial and Norton. He then led a short foot chase before he was captured, according to Lyon County deputies.
Brown’s legal troubles in Kansas are on top of court proceedings underway in Oklahoma. Brown is facing two counts of bank robbery, one from March 2020 and one from May 2020, after allegedly taking around $320,000 total from two separate banks. Brown, a one-time fire captain with the Tulsa Fire Department, is also facing one state count of embezzling $72,000 from a remodeling contract in Tulsa two years ago.
Brown is set for federal trial in the bank robberies starting Nov. 15 in Tulsa. He has a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 10 in Tulsa for the embezzlement case.
