Troopers nab stolen vehicle

Officers from Gregg and Rusk county sheriff departments and a DPS trooper were involved in the arreest of a man driving a stolen vehicle here this week.

Gregg County warrant deputy Jon Fulgham saw a 2007 Pontiac in Kilgore being driven by a man who was, the sheriff 's office said, behaving suspiciously. The car pulled into the parking lot of a store on highway 42 south and Fulgham stopped to question the driver.

Standard investigative checks on the vehicle showed the car had been reported stolen in Baytown on Monday. Fulgham requested assistance from other field units. When we started back to the car, the driver got in the vehicle and drove off.

Since the warrant deputy was working in an unmarked unit and because of traffic conditions in the area and the type of stolen vehicle, the deputy decided not to pursue the stolen car but broadcast its description and direction of travel to responding units, according to Lieutenant Mike Claxton of the Gregg County sheriff 's office.

Minutes later Texas Highway Patrol troopers in Rusk County spotted the car and, at the same time, the car ran out of gas. Troopers and other Rusk County law enforcement officers took the driver into custody on US 259 north of Henderson without further incident.

Fulgham identified the driver as the fleeing suspect in Gregg County. Initial reports indicate the man will be charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated.

"We intend to charge the driver in Gregg County with Evading Detention in a vehicle," Claxton said. The man is expected to be held in the Rusk County jail pending an arraignment hearing.