Details have been released on a wild pursuit of a Mountain Home man who tried to elude a sobriety checkpoint set up earlier this month by the Arkansas State Police (ASP) in which multiple Tactical Vehicle Intervention’s (TVI) had to be performed before the suspect’s vehicle was stopped. Facing 13 charges for the incident is 39-year-old Nicholas Thomas Koskinen who is no stranger to local law enforcement. Koskinen has 12 felony arrests, 11 of them in Baxter County, dating back to 2009, most of them for drug charges.
According to the probable cause affidavit from the Arkansas State Police, the incident happened Nov. 9 when the ASP were conducting a sobriety check point on Baxter County Road 60 at the old county quarry southeast of Mountain Home. A vehicle, which was later determined to be driven by Koskinen, approached the checkpoint, but stopped about 100 yards away and began backing up the hill, traveling north in the southbound hill. The vehicle then turned around and fled.
A trooper quickly started pursuing the vehicle and activated his lights and siren at the intersection of County Road 69 and Old Military Road. The vehicle turned onto Old Military with Koskinen driving at a low speed, so the trooped performed a TVI in an attempt to stop the vehicle before the pursuit went farther and reached higher speeds. The TVI was successful, but the vehicle recovered.
Koskinen’s vehicle circled back towards County Road 60 and eventually onto State Highway 5. The trooper noted Koskinen was driving erratically and hanging out of the window. Another TVI was performed on the passenger side as Koskinen drove down the middle of the highway. The vehicle left the roadway onto a parking lot, but turned to the highway, traveling in the other direction, headed back north.
At one point, Koskinen lost control and left the highway on his own, but recovered and returned to the highway.
By this time multiple troopers were involved in the pursuit. As the pursuit passed the soccer fields on Highway 5 at 70 miles-per-hour, Koskinen was still hanging out of the driver’s side window and crossing the center line. Oncoming traffic was having to drive onto the shoulder of the road to avoid Koskinen’s vehicle.
A trooper attempted another TVI in front of Americom Construction. Koskinen slammed on his brakes about the same time which resulted in the trooper’s vehicle pushing Koskinen’s vehicle onto the shoulder of the highway. A second trooper attempted to push the suspect’s vehicle into a concrete culvert so he could not continue to drive, but Koskinen was able to pull back onto the highway. At that time, a third trooper performed another TVI in the roadway, and the three troopers pinned the suspect’s vehicle in.
Koskinen began to climb out of his vehicle in an attempt to flee, but he retreated when one of the troopers held him at gun point. He then refused to get out of his vehicle and it took two troopers to remove him. He then would not comply with the troopers commands and fought with the three troopers while they tried to arrest him.
In Koskinen’s vehicle, troopers found marijuana, edible gummies, THC wax and a used syringe. During the pursuit, Koskinen had thrown something out of his window on Highway 5. Troopers located a plastic baggie with multiple baggies and pills that have been sent to the state crime lab for identification.
Koskinen is facing felony charges of fleeing in a vehicle; possession of fentanyl with purpose to deliver; possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine; and possession of drug paraphernalia. Misdemeanor charges include possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, possession of an instrument of crime, resisting arrest, reckless driving, DWI drugs second offense, driving while license is suspended for DWI, failure to present insurance and not wearing a seat beat. Koskinen is being held in the Baxter County Detention Center on bonds totaling $25,000.
Koskinen has served time in the Arkansas Department of Corrections for drug convictions in the past. He has one open court case from an arrest in August when he was arrested during a traffic stop on multiple drug charges including trafficking fetanyl.
A video of the pursuit can be viewed with this story at ktlo.com. Please note there is strong language in the video.
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