GARRETT— The Indiana State Police, assisted by multiple local and county law enforcement agencies, arrested a Fort Wayne man Friday night after a lengthy vehicle pursuit that began in DeKalb County and ended in Noble County. The pursuit resulted in a crashed patrol car and a laundry list of criminal charges for the suspect.
The incident began at approximately 9:30 p.m. Friday when a state trooper attempted to stop Dusty E. Dawkins, 43, of Fort Wayne, on State Road 327 near Warfield Street in Garrett. Dawkins allegedly drove his 2016 Honda Civic passenger car without tail lights.
The trooper turned on his emergency red/blue lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop. Dawkins did not pull over; he continued south on State Road 327 to County Road 56. He disregarded a “road closed” sign (due to construction) and headed eastbound on County Road 56. A brief traffic stop occurred near the area of construction blockage, and then Dawkins allegedly made a U-turn and fled northbound on SR327 back toward Garrett.
A second trooper became involved in the pursuit, and Dawkins’s vehicle crashed into his patrol car on State Road 327 south of Garrett. Stopsticks were successfully deployed, striking two tires on the Honda, but Dawkins continued driving north on State Road 327 through Garrett and then west on State Road 8 towards Noble County. As the pursuit entered Noble County on State Road 8, local and county officers assisting in de-escalating the pursuit successfully deployed Stopsticks twice before the pursuit entered the town of Avilla.
Near the intersection of County Road 100 North near County Road 900 East, the same trooper whose patrol car crashed into early in the pursuit would effectively initiate a series of Precision Immobilization Techniques (PIT) maneuvers, which disabled the suspect vehicle down into a side ditch. Dawkins continued to refuse compliance with officers’ commands to exit the car but was eventually removed from the vehicle and taken into custody without further incident.
Dawkins was initially transported to the DeKalb Parkview Hospital for medical clearance. Once cleared for incarceration, he was transported to the DeKalb County Jail and booked into custody on numerous preliminary criminal charges, including resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, resisting arrest causing injury, obstruction of justice, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, possession of cocaine, operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in the body, OWI endangerment, and leaving the scene of an accident.
The Indiana State Police were assisted during this pursuit and apprehension by the Noble County Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department K9 team, Avilla Town Marshal’s Office, Kendallville Police Department, Parkview (Noble) EMS, and Avilla Motorworks Wrecker Service.
