Formal charges and preliminary hearings have been set for multiple individuals allegedly involved in a series of vehicle pursuits in and around Emporia.
According to Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman, 51-year-old Troy Eastman has been charged with single counts of felony flee and elude and felony obstruction following a pursuit that allegedly occurred on around 9:10 pm Monday, May 9. Eastman reportedly fled from a planned traffic stop in the 200 block of Road 147 and was later apprehended in the 1500 block of Road 140 following a brief vehicle and foot pursuit.
Eastman will have a preliminary hearing at 1:15 pm Jun. 9. A Colorado man, arrested May 9 following a pursuit and crash in Chase County has also been formally charged for his alleged involvement in that incident. 31-year-old Cody W. Bauer of Fort Collins, CO, has been charged with felony flee and elude and possession of cocaine after he triggered a pursuit following attempts by Emporia Police to make contact after receiving reports of Bauer being in possession of a stolen vehicle and property.
The pursuit eventually entered Chase County where Bauer’s vehicle left the roadway, drove through a field, including a swampy area, and then overturned in a creek bed. Bauer has a nationwide extraditable warrant through Colorado for failure to comply with bond.
Bauer will have a preliminary hearing at 10 am Jun. 8.
A single count of felony flee and elude has also been filed against 27-year0old Vontrez Williams of Emporia following one of two pursuits on May 8.
Emporia Police received a report of a reckless driver and found the alleged vehicle involved at Sixth and Chestnut before 4 pm. There was a short chase that ended and then resumed when the vehicle was spotted again near 18th and Lincoln. An officer conducted a traffic stop and Williams was arrested on suspicion of felony flee and elude and reckless driving.
Roughly 90-minutes later that same day, a pursuit began shortly before 5:30 pm after a call for a reported erratic driver on Interstate 35 near the Burlingame Road exit. The driver, later identified as Zachary Slayden of Emporia, drove away from a planned traffic stop and used US Highway 50 to go across Emporia east to west. He was eventually arrested about 20 minutes after the chase started near East Sixth and Dorset.
Formal charges against Slayden are still pending. Williams is set for a preliminary hearing at 12:45 pm next Wednesday.
