DATE:Â Thursday, April 26, 2018
SUBJECT:Â Wanted Violent Felon Rams Sheriff’s Office Cruiser
RELEASE NUMBER:Â 2018-NR-020
CONTACT:Â Lt. Noah Robinson
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Dave Wedding
A Gary, Indiana man being sought on a probation violation warrant is in custody and facing new charges after ramming a Sheriff’s Office cruiser in an attempt to escape arrest this morning.
On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 9:39 AM Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Evansville Police Department officers assigned to the Joint Drug Task Force stopped a white Chevrolet Suburban for a traffic violation. The vehicle pulled into a gas station at E. Morgan Avenue and Boeke Road.
Officers knew that the vehicle was associated with Mr. Rashad Thompson, a violent felon wanted for violating the terms of his probation. Mr. Thompson was on probation stemming from a 2016 arrest for Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Disarming a Law Enforcement Officer, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, Resisting Law Enforcement and Escape from Custody.
An officer and a deputy approached the stopped vehicle and made contact with the driver, who was later identified as Mr. Thompson. Thompson initially gave a false name and then refused to exit his vehicle. Mr. Thompson locked the doors and rolled up all the windows. Mr. Thompson then put the vehicle into reverse and began backing up. A sheriff’s deputy quickly positioned his vehicle next to the Suburban to prevent Thompson from exiting the parking lot. Thompson then rammed the side of the sheriff’s office vehicle. A civilian bystander then stopped his vehicle in Thompson`s path. Sheriff’s deputies were then able break the windows of the Suburban and remove Thompson from the vehicle with the assistance of Evansville Police officers.
The Sheriff’s Office transported Mr. Thompson to the Vanderburgh County Jail, where he remains held without bond. In addition to his local charges, Mr. Thompson is being held on a Daviess County, Kentucky District Court warrant for 1st Degree Assault.
Rashad Lamar Thompson (pictured above), 31, of Gary. Resisting Law Enforcement as a Level 6 Felony, Resisting Law Enforcement as a Class A Misdemeanor, False Informing as a Class A Misdemeanor, Criminal Recklessness as a Class A Misdemeanor.
Pictured above: Crash scene at 2401 E Morgan Avenue.
Presumption of Innocence Notice: The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
