Vehicle pursuit ends in front of Guthrie school; driver arrested

One man was taken into custody on Thursday morning after he led a Guthrie police officer on a vehicle pursuit down Noble Ave.

Sgt. Anthony Gibbs with the Guthrie Police Department said he clocked a white, four-door Nissan Sentra traveling 70 mph in a 45 mph speed zone (near Braums) on Highway 33. Gibbs later said the speeds reached 75 mph in a 35 mph zone as the vehicle traveled west into town.

The officer was attempting to reach the vehicle, but was faced with heavy traffic, including semi-trucks. Gibbs says at one point the driver crossed the double yellow line and into the eastbound lanes in attempt to avoid traffic. However, the suspect was unsuccessful to do so due to heavy traffic. From there, Gibbs alerted other officers of a vehicle pursuit.

Gibbs, eventually, was able to get behind the vehicle at Drexel St., but the driver continued on. As other police units arrived and blocked the intersection at Broad St., the driver pulled into a nearby church parking space in the 300 block of E. Noble and across the street from Central Elementary.

With firearms drawn, police officers secured four people into investigative detention.

The school was not forced to go into lockdown, but students were kept inside briefly while police gained control of the scene.

A search of the vehicle found marijuana and unknown pills. Gibbs says those pills will be tested to determine the narcotic.

The driver, a Texas man, was arrested for eluding a police officer and possessing a controlled drug substance within 1,000 feet of a school, a felony.

The vehicle was towed from the scene.

The three passengers were questioned and later released.