Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884

Drug arrest follows back-and-forth vehicle chase4

A Gillette man has been arrested for possession after allegedly leading a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper on a late-night chase along both the interstate and a graveled county road, at one point driving directly towards the trooper’s vehicle. Jason Arnhold faces a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine.

On March 20 at around 11:46 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper left the interstate at the Beaver Creek Road off ramp. His headlights illuminated a pickup parked under the overpass in the middle of the roadway with its lights off.

The trooper reports noticing the headlights and tail lights become illuminated and the truck begin to drive forward. Finding this suspicious, he conducted a traffic stop.

According to the court affidavit, the driver of the pickup kept his right hand out of the trooper’s view and refused to place it on the steering wheel when asked. He then allegedly slammed the gear shift into gear, accelerated quickly, spraying loose gravel, and began to drive away.

The trooper pursued the pickup with his emergency lights and siren activated. Arnhold allegedly drove to the interstate and turned west in the eastbound lane, crossing over to the westbound lane a short distance later.

Arnhold allegedly continued to flee at speeds up to 90 mph before leaving the interstate at the Inyan Kara Road exit and turning onto H-Kay Road, a loose gravel county road. Several miles later, the trooper reports that Arnhold stopped his vehicle and turned it to face his own vehicle, then driving towards the trooper.

After narrowly missing the trooper’s vehicle, Arnhold allegedly drove back to Inyan Kara Road at speeds up to 55 mph. The trooper claims he drove “in a manner in which he held no regard to the safety of himself or others, nearly losing control of his vehicle several times”.

Arnhold allegedly stopped just south of U.S. 14 and put his hands out of the driver’s side window. Another trooper and a Crook County Sheriff Deputy arrived and Arnhold was placed in handcuffs and taken to the Crook County Detention Center.

An inventory of the vehicle performed by the second trooper allegedly located a small baggy containing suspected methamphetamine weighing 3.9g. A background check allegedly revealed that Arnhold’s drivers license was suspended and several prior convictions for driving while under the influence and driving while suspended.

Arnhold has been charged with possession of methamphetamine in an amount greater than 3g, a felony punishable by up to seven years’ incarceration, a $15,000 fine or both.