A Taylorsville man who is accused of crashing a stolen car into a Columbus Police Department patrol vehicle earlier this year and then leading police on a pursuit was arrested Thursday after a lengthy investigation.
A CPD officer observed Tyler S. Houchens, 24, on Thursday afternoon near the intersection of Ohio Avenue and McShane Avenue where he was taken into custody on a Bartholomew County warrant for his arrest, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
On Jan. 23, CPD officers responded to Brookside Court in regards to a disturbance. A short time later, a man later identified as Houchens, stole a nearby vehicle and crashed into an unoccupied CPD patrol car as he was fleeing the neighborhood, Harris said.
Minutes later, CPD officers observed the stolen vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on State Road 11 towards Columbus, however, they terminated the pursuit of the suspect due to the high volume of morning traffic, Harris said.
Houchens was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail with an Indiana parole hold for the Bartholomew County Warrant issued out of Superior Court 1 on original charges of auto theft and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
