Norman — An Oklahoma City man who allegedly led Norman police on a pursuit Tuesday through the northwest part of the city has been formally charged.
Cleveland County prosecutors charged Johnathan Noel Crowson, 32, on Wednesday with attempting to elude police, a felony. Crowson also faces a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident involving damage, according to court records.
Events leading up to Crowson’s arrest unfolded about 5:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Norman police said Officer Ryan Bruehl was driving northbound on 24th Avenue NW near Westport Drive when Bruehl noticed a pickup pulling a trailer. Neither the pickup nor the trailer had working taillights, police said.
Bruehl attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle, and instead, the driver sped up, according to a court affidavit. The driver, later identified as Crowson, continued driving until he crashed the 1994 GMC 3500 into a fence.
“The defendant then fled on foot,” the affidavit stated.
Bruehl said in the affidavit that residents reported seeing Crowson running across the golf course.
“We got into a foot pursuit of him and he was arrested at 8:50 hours,” Bruehl said.
Police said officers also learned the pickup, trailer and its contents were reported stolen from an address in Newcastle on Tuesday. Officers arrested Crowson and transported him to the Cleveland County Detention Center.
He was booked into the county jail. Crowson’s bond was set at $10,000, an employee with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department said.
Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com
