Man dead after police chase ends in shooting

A high-speed chase involving four law enforcement agencies and spanning more than 20 miles of three highways, ended with a suspect shot to death and traffic tied up for miles. <br><br>Officers from Tulsa,

Friday, May 23rd 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A high-speed chase involving four law enforcement agencies and spanning more than 20 miles of three highways, ended with a suspect shot to death and traffic tied up for miles.

Officers from Tulsa, Jenks, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Tulsa County were in pursuit of Lucas Adam Andrews, who led them all the way from Jenks to just south of Owasso. They knew that the suspect was armed, because he'd allegedly fired a shot at a Jenks residence and he was racing to elude a growing posse of law enforcement.

When he got just past 36th Street North on US Highway 169, Tulsa Police Sgt Wayne Allen says he appeared to be trying to change directions. "Apparently the suspect was attempting to leave the northbound lanes of this highway and enter the southbound lanes when he hit the barrier. That's when he hit it, his vehicle crashed, came to rest, and that's when the shooting occurred."

Allen says a Tulsa Police officer and an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper fired several shots when the suspect appeared to reach for a weapon. Investigators did recover a gun the back seat of the truck.

The Tulsa Police Officer involved in the fatal shooting is a 19-year veteran of the department. He's on routine leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is also looking into the case since an OHP trooper was involved in the shooting.

The chase apparently had a violent beginning. It started with a dispute between a common law husband and wife in a quiet Jenks neighborhood.

Jenks Police say Lucas Andrews went into the house and pointed a rifle at his wife's mother. They say his wife locked herself in a closet, but Andrews kicked in the door and a struggle followed. They believe one shot was fired, but nobody was hurt.

They say this was actually the second confrontation between the couple. Jenks Police officer Det Sgt Don Selle, "He had come home and had cut her clothes up and put them on the front lawn. She was concerned when she came home and she called us out and we were told everything was okay. He had already left so everything seemed to be fine, we left, about 45 minutes later, we got a call to come back."

The couple moved into the house a couple of months ago. Records show Andrews did not show any significant criminal history. His wife had no comment.