3 men nabbed after eluding Bernie police

BERNIE, Mo. -- Three of four men who allegedly fled first from Bernie police and later from Malden, Missouri, police Sunday night are in custody at the Dunklin County Jail.

At 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Bernie police attempted to stop a red Dodge Ram pickup truck believed to have been stolen from Cape Girardeau. The truck was heading south on Highway 25. The truck failed to yield to the police unit, and proceeded south at more than 100 miles per hour, eventually entering the city limits of Malden, at which time Malden police joined in on the chase.

At Madison Street in Malden, the pickup ran off the road, crashed into a concrete barrier and came to rest on the railroad tracks.

Four men emerged from the vehicle and allegedly attempted to flee the scene. Three of the four were apprehended by Malden police officers. The fourth remains at large.

The three have been identified as Santonio Parker Jr., 18; Colin Berry, 17; and Devon Smith, 18. All three are from Cape Girardeau. The three were initially transported to the Malden Police Department.

Colin Berry

At 9 a.m. Monday, a resident on Day Street in Bernie found a loaded and cocked pistol in the front yard of their home. The resident reported it to police, and the weapon was confiscated. Bernie police chief Justin Allen said it is believed the weapon was thrown from the pickup truck as the chase progressed through Bernie.

The pickup truck involved in the chase was later determined to be the one stolen from Cape Girardeau.

Each of the men is charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest by fleeing.