Officer avoids injuries from truck during alleged theft

A Guthrie police officer was able to avoid injuries after being struck by a vehicle during an alleged theft on the town’s west side.

Just before midnight on June 9, an officer responded to a home in the 1200 block of W. Noble for a burglary in the process with a man stealing a refrigerator.

The responding officer found a white truck, heard the truck’s engine rev up and hit something in the roadway, according to a police report.

A witness later told officers the truck had hit the refrigerator.

The officer gave commands to stop, while shining a flashlight into the truck, but instead driving toward the officer before turning into a residential front yard.

The truck then went into reverse and, again, began toward the officer despite ongoing commands to stop. The officer was able to move away, but i the process was struck in the shoulder by the passenger side mirror.

The truck sped away. However, the officer was able to identify the driver, along with witnesses, as 49-year-old Jeffery Dewayne Rhodes.

Despite searching the area, officers and deputies with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office were unable to locate the truck.

The officer did not require medical attention at the scene.

Rhodes was taken into custody the following day and charged with burglary in the second degree and assault and battery on a police officer.

With his attorney present (David Hood), Rhodes was handed down a $100,000 bond.

According to online records, Rhodes remains in the Logan County Jail as of Monday afternoon.

In February, Rhodes was charged with grand larceny in Logan County.

In 2013, Rhodes pleaded guilty in Logan County to attempted assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery in presence of a minor and driving under the influence of alcohol.

He was given a five year suspended sentence.