Pocatello man charged following high-speed chase in stolen car
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POCATELLO — A man police say crashed into patrol cruisers while leading officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle has been charged with multiple felonies.
Dustin Lee Hensley, 33, faces charges of eluding an officer, grand theft and two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, court records show.
Pocatello police officers responded to a call reporting a vehicle stolen from a home on the 1300 block of El Rancho Boulevard around 1:45 a.m. Nov 3, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller said Hensley had just left the area in a red 2012 Hyundai Elantra without permission from the owner.
While en route, officers found the Hyundai still in the area. As the officer approached the Hyundai, it sped away.
The car reached speeds above 60 mph in an area with a 25 mph posted speed limit, the affidavit says. It was also traveling on the wrong side of the road — toward oncoming traffic — without its headlights on. As additional officers arrived, the Hyundai swerved around the patrol vehicles.
While attempting to evade the police, the Hyundai crashed into one of their patrol vehicles.
As the car passed, one of the officers was able to positively identify the driver as Hensley.
Officers pursued Hensley led from El Rancho Blvd., down Hiline Road, onto Alameda Road, to Maple Street and then Garrett Way.
Given conditions — including the high speed of travel and limited visibility — officers stopped their pursuit when the Hyundai turned onto Main Street.
On Nov. 17, officers involved in the chase learned Hensley had been arrested on a probation violation and was being held at Bannock County Jail. Officers spoke with Hensley at the jail.
Asked to explain what happened the morning of Nov. 3, Hensley told the officers he was at a friend’s house but had been kicked out. Someone with him gave Hensley keys to their car, so he got in the car and drove a block away. He parked the car there and was waiting for the vehicle’s owner when officers arrived.
He said he got nervous when he saw police vehicles, so “he panicked and took off,” the affidavit says.
Hensley told the officers he didn’t intentionally hit the patrol vehicle. He said that once he could not see the patrol vehicles behind him, he parked the Hyundai and hid near a tree.
When the officers told him they were at the El Rancho home that night searching for him and a vehicle he had reportedly stolen, Hensley once again asserted that he had permission to take the Hyundai.
He is currently being held at Bannock County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
Though Hensley has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Hensley would face up to 39 years in prison.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a Preliminary hearing before Magistrate judge Carol Tippi Jarman Monday.