An Exeter man is facing a felony charge and a misdemeanor charge following an alleged high-speed chase on Highway 37 in Barry County.
Cody Priest, born 1989, of Exeter, is charged with felony fleeing and misdemeanor failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
According to a probable cause statement filed by Trooper T. Williams, at 9:59 p.m. on Dec. 5, Williams was traveling southbound on Highway 37 near Highway C when he observed a Ford Fusion traveling northbound at a high rate of speed. Williams’ mounted radar showed the vehicle was traveling at 120 miles per hour though an area near Purdy where the speed limit posted is 45 miles per hour.
Williams initiated a pursuit, and as he attempted to overtake the vehicle to initiate a traffic stop, the vehicle allegedly failed to yield at a high rate oof speed. During the pursuit, the driver allegedly failed to maintain his lane, causing the vehicle to travel off the left side of the roadway into the ditch.
The vehicle also failed to stop at numerous stop signs, failed to signal and exceeded the posted speed limit by more than 26 miles per hour multiple times, according to Williams.
Trooper Samuel Carpenter, public information officer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said the vehicle was located abandoned on a gravel road at the conclusion of the pursuit, with the driver having fled on foot.
On Dec. 6, the registered owner of the vehicle, Priest, requested to speak with a Barry County Sheriff’s Office deputy for filing a report for his vehicle being stolen. At 9 a.m. that day, Williams was notified of the report, and after contacting the deputy, determined it was the same Ford Fusion that had fled from him the previous night.
Williams contacted Priest at his residence in Exeter and placed him under arrest. Williams said while waiting for jail processing, Priest allegedly admitted to being the driver of the vehicle during the pursuit.
Priest has a prior resisting arrest conviction in May 2021 in Newton County. He was being held on a $25,000 cash-only bond, which on Dec. 9 was modified to 10% cash or corporate surety.
A disposition hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. in the courtroom of Judge Robert Foulke.
