Traffic stop leads to late night manhunt

Clarendon residents were put on edge in the early morning hours Monday as law enforcement personnel searched the city for a man who fled from police.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Trooper Daniel Hawthorne said a 2011 Ford Mustang was stopped for speeding near the west city limits about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The southbound car had three occupants, and the trooper asked for IDs from the driver and passengers.

One passenger fled the scene, and the other individuals – identified as Camron Meyers, age 18, of Belton and Kentrel Hilt, age 24, of Killeen – were placed under arrest. The men were charged with Possession of Marijuana and Theft of a Firearm, both of which were found in the car.

The third man, who has not been identified, fled on foot onto the Clarendon College campus. DPS and officers of the Donley County Sheriff’s Office began searching for the man. Search dogs from the DPS and Amarillo Police Department were brought in, and a DPS helicopter also attempted to find the man, Sheriff Butch Blackburn said.

As morning broke, authorities believed the man was still on the west side of the city based on cell phone signals, prompting Clarendon College to cancel its outdoor Kids College activities for that morning. As the morning progressed, the signal moved out of the county, and Sheriff Blackburn called off the search about 8:30 a.m.

The suspect is still wanted on charges of Evading.

Myers and Hilt were arraigned Tuesday and charged with Possession of Marijuana and Theft of a Firearm. Bond was set on both men at a total of $6,500 each. They remained in the Donley County Jail at press time.