Vincent Walrath (Photo courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
A Missouri man whom allegedly stole a car in Baxter County Thursday afternoon and led law enforcement on a lengthy pursuit after waving at a deputy to start the chase was arrested when an Arkansas State Trooper (ASP) performed a pit maneuver on the vehicle. The man, 31-year-old Vincent Andrew Walrath of Grandview was just released from the Ozark County Jail Wednesday for stealing another vehicle.
According to the probable cause affidavit from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office and information from the Arkansas State Police, the car had been left running at a residence on County Road 69 when it was stolen around noon.
About 3:30, a deputy spotted the vehicle turning onto the Sheid-Hopper Bypass from Arkansas Highway 201 South. Walrath waved at the deputy as he turned onto the bypass.
The suspect’s vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and the deputy finally caught up to it at the Arkansas Highway 5 South exit ramp. After verifying it was the stolen vehicle, the deputy activated his blue lights as they passed the Arkansas Department of Transportation and his siren as they passed the Dollar General Store, but Walrath did not stop the vehicle.
Walrath then turned onto County Road 573 and left onto Lagerborg Drive which runs behind Amon’s Lake near the soccer complex where his vehicle high centered on a large rock. The deputy approached the car with his gun drawn and ordered Walrath to exit the car, but Walrath put it in reverse, forcing the deputy to move out of the way, then drove forward and fled.
The deputy’s car was unable to make it through the rocks, so he turned around and went south on Highway 5 where he met the suspect’s vehicle traveling northbound.
Another deputy was in pursuit and a third deputy joined in the chase as they got back on the bypass heading east. A state trooper took the lead and performed a PIT maneuver causing the vehicle to overturn near the Home Depot store. Walrath was arrested as he exited the vehicle and transported to Baxter Health where he was treated and released.
His charges from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office include aggravated assault on an officer, fleeing in a vehicle, first degree criminal mischief and theft of property, all felonies, along with a penalty enhancement of being a habitual offender. He still has charges pending from the ASP from Thursday’s incident.
The Ozark County incident occurred Nov. 23 when Walrath allegedly stole an energy drink from a convenience store in Gainesville. Deputies found Walrath a short time later in a vehicle that had been reported stolen in Jackson County, Mo.
He told the deputy the car belonged to his uncle. In the car were several bags with his clothes and checks written out by him with his name on them in the amount of $100,000,000.
He was charged in Ozark County with stealing a motor vehicle and tampering with a motor vehicle.
The probable cause affidavit noted Walrath’s extensive criminal history includes arrests and convictions from Missouri and Florida for assaults, drugs, guns and stealing.
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