Norman man faces new charges after running from police

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ A 19-year-old Norman man is facing several new felony charges after bolting from a Norman Municipal Court and briefly escaping from custody. <br/><br/>Police say Richard Gregory Gaspard

Wednesday, September 15th 2004, 6:13 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ A 19-year-old Norman man is facing several new felony charges after bolting from a Norman Municipal Court and briefly escaping from custody.

Police say Richard Gregory Gaspard was initially arrested Sunday evening on several outstanding municipal warrants.

When he was brought before a municipal judge Monday, police say he ran from the court, through a park and crawled into a drainage culvert.

Several kids at a skatepark near the park told police they saw Gaspard crawl into the culvert.

When Gaspard refused to come out, police fired pepper spray into the opening to force him out.

Police say they plan to submit complaints to the district attorney's office for escape from lawful custody and destruction of state property.

The property destruction charge stems from the disappearance of the orange state-issued clothes Gaspard was wearing when he ran from the courtroom.