Fifty-six-year-old Rory Gregory of Mountain Home made a first appearance in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea on a large number of charges, stemming from a chase through a wide swath of the city, winding up when he drove his vehicle through the entrance to the Baxter Regional Medical Center Emergency Room.Gregory’s criminal record stretches back to at least 1978.
The chase began when an off-duty Baxter County Reserve Deputy, traveling south on Highway 201 near Shipps Ferry Road, called 911 after observing a small silver car behind him run off the right side of the highway and reenter the road. A short distance later, the silver car passed him, side swiping the left side of his vehicle.
As more officers joined the chase, the car, which was being driven by Gregory, reached speeds of 80-plus-miles-per-hour, passing numerous cars on double yellow lines.
At one point, law officers used a spike strip to try and stop Gregorys vehicle, but he made a sharp right turn and exited the highway before encountering the strips. A Mountain Home Police Officer standing on the shoulder of the highway had to jump out of the way of the vehicle to avoid being struck with Gregorys car coming with inches of him.
Gregory continued to drive at a high rate of speed disregarding stop signs and narrowly missing other vehicles. After traveling through a wide area of the city, he eventually made a left turn into the Baxter Regional Medical Center Medical Arts Building parking access road. Baxter County Sheriffs office Sergeant Brad Hurst, approaching from the opposite direction with his blue emergency lights on, observed Gregorys car approaching his vehicle. Sergeant Hurst saw the fleeing vehicle was attempting to hit his vehicle and took evasive actions. Sergeant Hurst tried to steer his vehicle away from the approaching vehicle and then brought his unmarked vehicle to a complete stop. The fleeing vehicle purposely swerved to this left and struck the right front of Hursts vehicle.
Gregorys vehicle then made a right turn onto Hospital Drive, then immediately made a right turn into Baxter Regional Medical Center Emergency Center circle drive.
While in this area, the vehicle nearly struck a pedestrian and a parked vehicle as a patient being released from the hospital was being loaded into the parked vehicle. Gregorys car continued through the pedestrian walkway, sideswiping a metal handrail. The vehicle drove through two sets of double glass doors, continuing an additional 16 feet before nearly striking a pedestrian inside the Cline Emergency Center lobby.
Three Mountain Home Police Department officers approached the vehicle, knocked out the windows reached in and disabled it. Gregory refused to obey the officers commands and continued to resist. He was physically removed from the vehicle, continuing to fight officers. A taser was deployed and officers were eventually able to handcuff Gregory and take him the short distance into the emergency room to be treated.
At the time of the incident, Gregory was on active parole. He was given a 15-year prison sentence in 2014 after pleading guilty to resisting arrest, theft of property, fleeing and second-degree battery. The Arkansas Parole Board released him from the state prison system in April after he served about 30 months of his 15-year sentence.
He is scheduled to reappear in Circuit Court November 9.
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