HUTCHINSON, Kan. – A 44-year-old Great Bend man was arrested early Wednesday after leading Reno County Sheriff Deputies on a high speed chase.
Richard Franklin Newkirk jailed on suspicion of felony flee and elude with five or more moving violations associated with the chase.
It started when the deputy says he driving west bound on 4th Street at Peace Road following a vehicle. He had dispatch run the license plate and it turned up with a name of a person with a suspended driver’s license. The deputy then attempted to make a traffic stop and the chase was then on. The chase ended at Jordan Springs and Longview Road when the driver attempted to go west, but stopped when the road came to a dead end at a cattle gate. The chase occurring at around 1:30 a.m. in the morning with speeds as high as 75 mph.
It was also learned when they identified Newkirk that he has warrants in both Barton and Ellis County.
With the arrest, he’ll be back before a judge next week to see what charges are filed.
Newkirk is well known to law enforcement with convictions in Reno and Barton counties. Those convictions include burglary, forgery, unlawful manufacturing and possession of drugs going back to the 1990’s.