KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Cass County sheriff’s deputy was seriously injured in a fiery crash late Monday following a pursuit, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Just before midnight, a Cass County sheriff's deputy and his sergeant noticed a gray 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe speed past them on South Prospect Avenue near East 155th Street in Belton.
They pulled over the driver, but as they approached, the 36-year-old male suspect floored it.
During a very short chase, the suspect and the deputy lost control.
Both their vehicles struck a tree, before the patrol car caught fire.
The sergeant pulled his deputy out of the burning vehicle.
"This is just another situation that presented itself to that sergeant at that time and he took the appropriate action and they do that everyday," Cass County, Missouri Sheriff Jeff Weber said.
As paramedics tended to the deputy, the manhunt for the suspect continued.
Officers from a number of surrounding communities flooded the area and set-up a perimeter around the massive field. Eventually, officers caught the suspect with the help of a drone with special technology.
"The ability to see in the dark--we're able to fly over the top of the scene and see the individual hiding in the grass literally just yards away from people," Captain Kevin Tieman, a drone operator with the Cass County Sheriff's Office, told 41 Action News.
Once located, the suspect surrendered without fight. He was arrested on a dozen warrants--some of them involving a April 2018 chase in south Kansas City.
The Cass County Prosecutor charged Charles F. Rice, 36, with felony assault, felony resisting arrest by fleeing and driving while revoked.
Rice is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday.
"I'm utterly disgusted that this individual is out," Weber said of the suspect. "People with a 150 page-criminal history, 20 pending cases should not be out on the street allow to continue to victimize our community."
Sheriff Weber believes several factors with the criminal justice system including lack of jail space in parts of the metro need attention.
"A bad guy knows that if he runs a lot of agencies won't chase," Weber said. "If they chase and they catch him, he's probably going to get a low or no bond--signature bond."
A Cass County judge set Rice's bond at $150,000, cash only, according to a news release from the Cass County Sheriff's Office.
Rice was treated and released from a hospital.
The deputy was transported to an area hospital in serious but stable condition.
He remained in a hospital Tuesday night.
