The Leitchfield man law enforcement has been searching for since late June has been captured.
Grayson County Special Deputy Mark Stanton captured 27-year-old Walter Higgs at Dewey’s Trailer Park, in Caneyville. Higgs was wanted on six counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), reckless driving, and two counts of fleeing or evading police (in a motor vehicle, on foot), along with several non-moving violations related to a high-speed chase involving the Leitchfield Police Department and Grayson County Sheriff’s Office.
Higgs, who already had two warrants for misdemeanor offenses in Breckinridge County, fled from authorities on Friday afternoon, June 29, at about noon after Leitchfield Police Officer Eugene Cain spotted Higgs driving 100 miles per hour on Dixie Avenue, a residential street in Leitchfield. The chase wound through other residential areas before making its way north on Brandenburg Road.
Several city and county police units were involved in the pursuit that turned off Brandenburg Road onto Hanging Rock Road. At one point in the chase, a female passenger tossed what was later found to be a “drug kit” out of the window, according to police. The kit contained a syringe and methamphetamine.
After turning onto Hanging Rock Road, Higgs turned onto a driveway, driving his vehicle off the end of the drive before stopping between a pond and wooded area. He fled into the woods.
About five hours later, Grayson County Central Dispatch received a 911 call from a residence on King Road stating that a man arrived at the home asking to use the phone. The man, who turned out to be Higgs, was behaving in a suspicious manner, had no shirt on and had cuts and scrapes all over his body.
When he left the King Road residence, Higgs walked across the street and was loitering around an empty mobile home. When police arrived, they searched for Higgs at the mobile home, and in the King and Childress Road areas, but without success.
He had not been seen since, until Wednesday afternoon at approximately 4:30 when Grayson County Central Dispatch received a tip on Higgs’ location.
Upon arriving at Dewey’s Trailer Park, Special Deputy Mark Stanton, who parked up the road from the trailer park and walked to near Higgs’ alleged location, spotted the fugitive. Dep. Stanton said he intended to await the arrival of GCSO Sgt. Fred Norder, who was en route, but as Dep. Stanton was watching Higgs he went underneath a vehicle he was working on.
With Higgs having limited space to make a getaway, Dep. Stanton approached the suspect, dropped a knee on him and grabbed Higgs’ leg as his upper body was underneath the vehicle. Dep. Stanton informed Higgs he was under arrest. He was taken into custody without incident and lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center. Sgt. Norder soon arrived and assisted Dep. Stanton at the scene.
Higgs first fled from law enforcement just after 10:000 on the night of June 22 when Caneyville Constable Alvin Dockery attempted a traffic stop as Higgs was driving 50 miles per hour in a 35 zone. Constable Dockery said when he activated his blue lights on Hwy 62 at the Caneyville city limits, Higgs immediately accelerated to nearly 100 miles per hour.
Constable Dockery followed Higgs onto Kefauver Road but lost sight of the vehicle, a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Soon, Grayson County Deputy Kelsey Overton and Sgt. Norder, along with Constable Marion Higgs, arrived in the area, with Sgt. Norder locating the Monte Carlo parked on a farm access road, well off Kefauver Road. The vehicle was empty (with the exception of two bottles of beer).
(Photo courtesy of Brittany Mattingly)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
