A 30-year-old Dickinson man was jailed Saturday evening following a vehicle pursuit that turned into a manhunt, according to sheriff’s reports,
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Nick Floyd reported responding to a disturbance on Church Street Aug. 8. Upon contact with the man, he was found to be wanted. He drove off in a pickup, with police pursuing behind him. The chase continued into Hopkins County.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Brantley reported spiking three of the four tires on the white Ford F250 pickup the man was driving at the intersection of FM 1567 and County Road 1443. The driver reportedly continued driving the truck with only one operational tire for about 5 miles before crashing into a grove of trees, deputies alleged in arrest reports.
The suspect then reportedly took off running into a wooded area, with Hopkins County Sheriff’s Sgt. Shea Shaw and Deputies Zack Horne, Justin Wilkerson and Kevin Lester, who had all joined the pursuit, chasing after him, according to arrest reports.
A perimeter search was set up. A Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter arrived in the area to search from the air with no success in locating the suspect. A short while later, the prison system’s bloodhounds were brought to the location, along with officials on horseback, to aid in the search of the area, Shaw and Brantley alleged in arrest reports.
Christopher Daniel Houpt of Dickinson was located in a wood line and taken into custody around 5 p.m. Aug. 8. The 30-year-old was checked by EMS then transported to jail, where he was booked for evading arrest or detention with a vehicle as well as Hunt County warrants for failure to appear on an evading arrest charge and bail jumping/failure to appear, according to arrest rand jail reports.
Houpt remained in Hopkins County jail Monday morning, Aug. 10. Bond on the evading arrest in a vehicle charge was set at $100,000. Bond on the Hunt County charges totaled $11,500, according to jail reports.
