30-mile chase lands three in jail; suspect tries to hide under water

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – Three people face a variety of charges stemming

Jesse Creekmore/Floyd County Sheriff’s Department

from a 30-mile chase Monday that included a patrol car being rammed and a suspect trying to hide submerged in a creek only to be tracked by a police K9 unit.

Floyd County Sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the Middle Creek area of the county when they spotted black 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that matched a stolen vehicle description, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.

But when deputies tried to stop the car, it took off, starting a chase that ended in the Middle Fork area of Johnson County and included ramming a Johnson County Sheriff’s patrol car,

Michael Burchett/Floyd County Sheriff’s Department

according to the post.

Once stopped, the driver fled on foot while two passengers remained in the car. Deputies from the two counties, with help from a Martin city police officer and tracking dog ‘Drago,’ began searching the area. “Drago” found the suspect hiding under trees and shrubbery submerged in a creek, according to the Facebook post.

Those charged include:

— Michael Barnett, 32, of Boonscamp, Ky., the driver who is charged with receiving stolen property, wanton endangerment, fleeing, resisting arrest, criminal mischief,

Elizabeth Rivers/Floyd County Sheriff’s Department

destroying evidence, and menacing.