Two-county high-speed chase ends in Clarendon

A high speed chase that ended in downtown Clarendon was one of several cases that had local law enforcement busy last week.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Armstrong County dispatchers got a call of a subject throwing litter out of a car west of Claude on Friday evening, January 30; and when a deputy responded the subject evaded and led officers on a chase into Donley County on US 287.

Donley County deputies successfully spiked three of the vehicle’s tires but were not able to stop the vehicle until it got downtown in front of City Hall.

Matthew Andrew Dunscombe, a 24-year-old resident of Tucson, Ariz., was placed under arrest for Evading Arrest and was subsequently arraigned before being returned to the custody of Armstrong County.

Blackburn said Dunscombe has “no criminal history to speak of,” and a search of his vehicle revealed no weapons or illegal substances.

Also on Friday night and early Saturday morning, two juveniles were arrested for theft of a motor vehicle. The vehicle was reported missing from East Barcus Street, and was stopped by a Donley County Deputy at Jefferson and Seventh streets. The 15-year-old driver and 14-year-old passenger were then detained in Randall County’s Youth Center of the High Plains.

Last Wednesday, January 28, a local deputy responded to a call of subject at Clarendon College in violation of a trespass warning. The subject, later identified as Clayton Shields of Lelia Lake, fled from the officer in a white Chevrolet pickup at high speeds in the city.

Shields eluded the officer and was later located on Farm Roads east of Clarendon. He was stopped and arrested by Sheriff Blackburn on FM 2471 and charged with Evading Arrest, Driving While Intoxicated, and Criminal Trespass.