Arrest Made In Chase That Started In Wagoner County, Ended In Tulsa

Police made an arrest after a multi-county chase Sunday night.

Deputies in Wagoner County said the pursuit started in Coweta with an attempt to make a simple traffic stop for running a stop sign, but the driver wouldn't stop.

The chase involved several departments and some hesitation during the chase because it started over a minor violation.

Even though the driver wouldn’t stop, the chase was unusually slow and long lasting.

The driver’s initial traffic violation is one that, at most, leads to a ticket, “but because they made a bad choice to elude, they not only put themselves and the officers and the public at risk, they increase the cost of what they’re doing,” said Wagoner County Chief Deputy Les Young.

At one point, near Coweta, an officer tried to stop the pursuit with spikes, but the driver went around them.

“He was able to elude or evade those stop sticks because he was going so slow he could see them,” said Young.

Deputies found themselves in a long pursuit through Coweta, Broken Arrow, and Tulsa that ended at 3200 North Iroquois.

6/24/2018 Related Story: Police Pursuit Through Tulsa Ends, Suspect Still On The Loose

When the driver got off the highway into a neighborhood, Wagoner County deputies backed off and Tulsa Police and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol took over.

“A couple of blocks later…the person got out of his car and ran, disappeared into one of the apartment complexes,” said Young.

The highway patrol says troopers chased the suspect on foot, but lost sight of him.

They say that during the chase a trooper shot a dog that threatened him in a back yard, which turned out to belong to the suspect.

That’s how they say they were able to identify Thomas Wright, who they say had quickly changed clothes.

Wright is now in jail, charged with eluding police, running a road block, and failing to stop at a traffic signal.

The list of charges, however, does not include speeding.  Authorities say that, even while on the turnpike, speeds never topped 65 miles per hour and he stayed below the speed limit during the chase.