Three arrested after theft, wild chase in Stoddard County

PAINTON, Mo. -- Three men suspected of stealing anhydrous ammonia in order to make methamphetamine were arrested Wednesday, but not before leading officers on a high-speed chase, and a state trooper was gassed, nearly run down, then drug through the mud, police said.

Shortly after midnight Tuesday officers from the Missouri Highway Patrol and Stoddard County sheriff's office witnessed three men fill up various containers with anhydrous ammonia, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Reggie Walker.

Rather than risk the men scattering on foot, the officers let them return to their vehicle because they thought it would be easier to arrest them if the subjects were contained, Walker said.

Instead, when police attempted to perform a traffic stop, the car sped off, turned into a private driveway, spun around and rammed a highway patrol car head-on and sped off again, leading police through the towns of Painton, Mo., and Perkins, Mo., and exceeding speeds of 100 miles an hour.

Highway patrol trooper Aaron Harrison was in pursuit when a five-gallon tank was tossed out of the car in front of him and burst, creating a cloud of anhydrous ammonia.

Other officers heard Harrison say over the police radio: "They just dumped anhydrous... I just got gassed."

Although the trooper tried to hold his breath until he was through the cloud, the vents on his car were open and he eventually had to breath the gas, Walker said.

When Stoddard County deputies pulled in front of the fleeing vehicle, it tore off across a muddy soybean field, with Harrison still in pursuit.

Two passengers, later identified as Jeremy Ledbetter and David Fry, fled on foot through the woods, but driver Ricky Larma remained with the vehicle.

Thinking Larma's car was stuck in the mud Harrison got out of his own car and began to walk over but Larma tried to run down the officer, Walker said.

Harrison fired gunshots at Larma's car in an attempt to disable it and jumped out of the way, and the car stopped again. When Harrison reached in to grab Larma he reversed, dragging the officer through the mud.

Deja vu

It wasn't the first time the 29-year-old officer heard an engine gun in his direction.

Last November a jury found Troy E. Marlow guilty of stealing anhydrous ammonia then trying to run over Harrison with a van, striking the officer a glancing blow with a side mirror.

A familiar foe to methamphetamine manufacturers, Harrison has used much of the four years he's spent on the force fighting meth crimes.

Last year he even helped write legislation making Missouri's meth laws some of the harshest in the country.

Stoddard County deputies Eddie Mays and Hank Trout were able to subdue Larma, Walker said.

Ledbetter and Fry were arrested by Malden, Mo., police later Wednesday.

"The different departments working together was key to resolving this," Walker said.

Harrison was treated for his bruises at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

A woman who answered the phone at his home Wednesday evening said he was hoarse and sore, but resting. He was expected to see a lung specialist today to make sure no lasting damage results from the burns to his lungs and throat tissue.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

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