Serial automobile thief hijacked a truck in Bakersfield with GPS monitoring, officers flees at over 100 miles per hour

Joseph Dwayne Hale, 32, of Cabool, is charged with four crimes related to a December 18, 2020 incident in which he allegedly stole a truck and then escaped from the Ozark County Sheriff’s MPs.

Hale is charged with tampering with a motor vehicle, damaging a vehicle with the intent to steal it, suffering first degree property damage, resisting arrest, and causing significant risk of injury or death to others – a negligent and ill-considered Manner that causes an accident, does not stop at an intersection and exit a vehicle or trailer.

He was arrested on February 2 for a $ 15,000 bond and was due to hold a bond reduction hearing on Tuesday before Associate Circuit Judge Raymond Gross. Online records show he didn’t show up. The hearing continued until March 9th.

Theft of a truck with a tracking device

Ozark County Deputy Sheriff Kyle Hannaford’s statement said he and Deputy Cecilia Schofield were dispatched to Bakersfield at 8:11 p.m. on December 18 to receive a report on a stolen 2018 silver Ford F-150. The caller informed a dispatcher that he had a tracking device on the truck and that he would keep the officers informed of his location.

The MPs turned south on Highway 101 at Bakersfield, and about two or three miles south of Highway 160 they encountered the stolen truck traveling at high speed in the opposite direction.

“I activated my emergency equipment and turned on the suspicious vehicle,” wrote Hannaford in the report. “The suspect vehicle was a considerable distance from Deputy Schofield and at that point [me] but was still close enough to watch the suspicious vehicle turn left onto Highway 160. “

The chase is turning towards Howell County reaches speeds of 100 miles per hour

Hannaford radioed the shipping office and asked the dispatcher to report the situation to the Howell County Sheriff’s Department and ask for permission to continue the chase in that county. HCSD agreed, and officers followed Hale on Highway 160 east towards West Plains.

“Speeds were reached over a hundred miles an hour, but the suspect vehicle was still pulling away from Deputy Schofield and me,” said Hannaford. “Due to traffic conditions and the suspect’s irregular driving, I disabled my emergency equipment, resumed normal driving speeds, and continued driving toward the suspect vehicle.”

Rollover crash

Hannaford beamed at the Ozark County shipping office and asked the vehicle owner to provide updated information on the truck’s location. The dispatcher relayed the information to Hannaford and Schofield that the truck was on the OO Highway and was turning onto 7320 County Road in Howell County.

The officers followed the dispatcher’s instructions on the basis of the tracking device in the truck. They drove down County Road 7320, turned on YY Highway, then turned north on Highway 101.

“[We] immediately hit the suspicious vehicle traveling south. I turned around immediately and caught up with the vehicle. I turned on my emergency lights and tried to stop the traffic, ”wrote Hannaford. “The vehicle accelerated quickly and then turned left into a cul-de-sac.”

Shortly after turning onto the county road, Hale is said to have crashed the vehicle, hit a power pole and broke it in half. The truck rolled over and came to rest with the wheels in the air.

An attempt to escape on foot

Hannaford was approaching the passenger side of the vehicle and Schofield was approaching the driver’s side. Hale tried unsuccessfully to break the passenger’s window from inside the vehicle. When that failed, he was able to pull down the window and crawl out of the truck.

Hannaford ordered Hale to show the officer his hands, but Hale did not obey. Instead, he turned and tried to escape on foot. Hannaford followed him and caught him in a nearby piece of wood, the report said.

Hale was handcuffed and taken to Ozark County Jail where he was processed. Statements were collected from the victim and are part of the investigation.

Previous perpetrator

Hale is charged as a persistent perpetrator, which means that if convicted, he will be given an extended prison term. A previous offender’s status is based on his or her previous conviction of at least two offenses in his past. The label means that Hale will face the conviction of any charge as if they were convicted of a class higher than usual.

According to online court records, Hale was found guilty of defying or disturbing an arrest in April 2009, attempted tampering with a motor vehicle in January 2010, tampering with a motor vehicle in July 2017, and two cases of tampering with a motor vehicle and resistance to arrest by escape in May 2018.