BENTONVILLE — BENTONVILLE - A high-speed chase that began on Gann Ridge Road Sunday night, ended just north of the intersection of U.S. Highway 62 and Arkansas Highway 37 with the driver out of the car and on the ground at gunpoint.
The driver, Melvin Dale Wishon, 46, of 414 Ridgehill Ave., Lowell, was arrested Sunday in connection with felony second-degree forgery, felony tampering with physical evidence, felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, felony possession of drug paraphernalia in the course or furtherance of a felony drug violation, and misdemeanor charges of no driver’s license, failure to signal and littering.
“Wishon had been out of prison less than 30 days,” Benton County Sheriff’s deputy Michael Wedgewood said on Monday.
Wedgewood and the Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Suppression Unit went to a residence on Gann Ridge Road Sunday looking for Ricky Dale Robinson Jr.
Robinson had three outstanding warrants, including one felony warrant, Wedgewood said, adding he has been searching for Robinson for almost a year.
A search of the house revealed nothing, Wedgewood said, but a person in the house indicated Robinson had gone through the woods to a nearby mobile home.
While searching the mobile home and outbuildings, Wedgewood said he saw a small red truck pull up to the first house searched, let a woman out and hurriedly leave. He and a backup unit gave chase.
He caught up with the truck, which Wedgewood said failed to stop when he activated his lights and siren.
Wedgewood said the truck stopped just north of the intersection of U.S.
62 and State Hwy. 37. He said he ordered the driver- who turned out to be Wishon - out and onto the ground at gunpoint. The two stayed in the middle of the road, blocking traffic, until backup units from Benton County and Missouri arrived.
In addition to drug and traffic charges, Wedgewood said he asked Wishon be charged with forgery because the date of birth on his driver’s license was incorrect.
“The date was off by one year,” Wedgewood said. “If you ran (a computer check on) his name using the date on the license, he came back clean. If you ran it using his correct date of birth, you got his record.”
No bond had been set for Wishon as of Tuesday.
News, Pages 7 on 11/02/2011