Dateline: April 17, 2003

Chase ends when suspect hits patrol car

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A Donley County deputy was hospitalized following a high-speed chase through Clarendon Monday, but it was unclear what had caused the officer to collapse.

Deputy Joe Stewart was in Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo Monday night where he was reported to be conscious and talking. Sheriff Butch Blackburn said doctors have said the collapse was apparently not trauma related and further tests were scheduled for Tuesday.

Stewart was the first to respond when Jesse Wayne Christopher was reported to be ramming cars in the parking lot of Clarendon College’s Bairfield Activity Center at 4:29 p.m. The officer saw Christopher, age 22, running his Chevrolet pickup into the car belonging to the subject’s wife.

Christopher also reportedly threatened to kill a Clarendon College employee who attempted to intervene.

After the deputy tried to stop Christopher, the sheriff said the subject fled south on Collinson Street and a chase ensued which eventually involved the sheriff, three deputies, and a state trooper.

Christopher reportedly took several city streets and then went south on SH 70 with highway speeds up to 100 mph. He came back on CR 12 and then got onto Parks Street, where he headed north to Fourth Street and turned east.

Sheriff Blackburn said at this point he was ready to call off the chase and let the subject go for fear of injuring a citizen.

“I wanted to end it because he [Christopher] had no regard for anyone’s safety,” he said. “We were having to watch every intersection, and he’s just blowing through them.”

Stewart was stopped at the intersection of Fourth and Jefferson when Christopher rammed the front end of his patrol car.

Blackburn removed the subject from his truck and subdued and cuffed him with the assistance of off-duty Trooper Pecos Hagler and Reserve Deputy Gary Thomas. Christopher was then walked to the nearby Donley County Jail and locked up.

Stewart, who had gotten out of his vehicle under his own power after the arrest, approached Blackburn and started to collapse. The sheriff caught his deputy, who was cared for by Reserve Deputy Jim Mincey while Blackburn called for an ambulance.

The deputy was transported by Associated Ambulance Authority to Claude where he was transferred to LifeStar and taken to the hospital. Blackburn said Stewart had lost consciousness at one point during transport.

At press time, Texas Ranger Gary Henderson had been called in to assist with the investigation. Charges were pending against Christopher, but Blackburn said they would definitely include Aggravated Assault and Felony Evading.