Published: July 28, 2009 11:03 pm      

HCSO arrests Ennis man

Brown was wanted on an auto theft warrant

An Ennis man who crashed a pickup during a high speed police chase in May was arrested in Athens Monday.

Christopher Ray Brown, 22, was arrested on an auto theft warrant and booked into the Henderson County Jail for unlawful use of a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana.

Brown remained in custody, Tuesday, with bonds totaling $10,000 set on the two offenses.

Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Warrant Deputy Billy Jack Valentine made the arrest at the Valero station on Farm-to-Market Road 2494 Monday afternoon.

“I’d been looking for him for a while and saw him at the gas station,” he said. “He had a marijuana cigarette in his pocket when I made the arrest.”

The warrant Valentine served on Brown was in connection with the May wreck.

“The pickup he was driving was stolen in the county,” Valentine said.

According to Kemp police reports, on May 26, Brown was southbound on U.S. Highway 175 in excess of 100 miles-per-hour. Kemp officer Damon Smith signaled Brown to pull over for a traffic stop. Brown complied, but when Smith opened the door to approach the pickup, he sped away.

Smith renewed the pursuit at speeds clocked at more than 90 miles per hour.

Reports stated Brown headed toward Mabank then attempted to turn onto State Highway 198, but lost control of the vehicle. The pickup rolled over several times.

Smith, and rescue personnel helped the six occupants from the vehicle. Brown and four others were taken to the East Texas Medical Center Emergency Room in Gun Barrel City.

A check of the license plates indicated the vehicle had been stolen.

After receiving treatment for minor injuries, Brown was arrested for accident involving injury or death, failure to yield right-of-way and having no liability insurance.

He was released the following day after posting $8,500 bond.