A man whose charges stemmed from his involvement in a high speed chase with law officers appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division Monday.
Twenty-nine-year-old Justice Vasquez pled guilty to the charges against him and was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail and 36 months of probation for hitting the gas instead of the brake when blue lights went on behind them. He was also given permission to serve the time on weekends.
Vasquez was initially charged with fleeing in a vehicle and on foot, DWI second 2nd, driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest, reckless driving and violating requirements for an interlock device.
Ben Burnett who represented Vasquez told the court his client had no record of any kind. “It was just a very bad day for him,” Burnett said.
Vasquez was arrested in the early morning hours of November 23 last year after a Baxter County sheriff’s deputy was told a motorcycle owned by Vasquez but apparently still registered to Stephen Whaples was parked at The Live Edge Bar and Grill on Highway 5 South.
At the time, Vasquez had a suspended driver’s license due to a DWI charge, requiring him to use an interlock device.
The interlock device is a hand-held breathalyzer connected to a vehicle’s ignition that will prevent a person starting the engine after drinking alcohol.
The motorcycle left the Live Edge parking lot turning onto Highway 5 South beginning a long winding trip in which the bike was reported to have traveled on the Sheid-Hopper Bypass, U..S Highway 62/412, East,9th Street, Bryant Street, Cynthia Circle, Meadowbrook Drive, East 16th Street, Rossi Road, McClure Lane, Glenbriar Drive and Cranfield Road.
The deputy sheriff activated his blue lights at one point and the motorcycle began accelerating in an attempt to evade arrest.
While traveling on 9th Street at one point during the chase, the motorcycle was estimated to be going 80-miles-per-hour.
The motorcycle eventually got back on the bypass and headed toward the U.S. Highway 62 bridges. It turned on Cranfield Road and went all the way to the Cranfield Marina where Vasquez wrecked the bike
He was reported to have fled on foot, but the deputy was able to catch and arrest him.
Vasquez was sentenced under the provisions of Act 346, the first offender’s law. If he stays out of trouble during his probation, he can apply to the court to have his record sealed.
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