It took drones and a school lockdown, plus agents from the Wyoming Highway Patrol, at least three counties and the federal government to stop the 100 mph escape of a wanted Colorado man. But ultimately the spike strips and highway tactical maneuvers did the job, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office says.
Sublette County Sheriff’s agents went to help the LaBarge Police Department with a fleeing suspect, John Fowler, the evening of Dec. 9, says a statement released by the sheriff’s office on Monday.
Fowler, 42, had an active U.S. Marshal’s warrant for “multiple felony charges,” the statement adds. Court documents say he’s from Pueblo West, Colorado.
Fowler’s name wasn’t in the public federal court docket as of Tuesday afternoon, but his entry in the Sweetwater County Detention Center roster says he’s wanted for drug delivery.
The Hunt
LaBarge police first encountered him at a home in their town, but he fled, prompting an overnight search.
The police and sheriff’s office, plus the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Wyoming Highway Patrol all coordinated in the search for Fowler, the statement says.
By the afternoon of Dec. 10, authorities broadcast a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) notice saying Fowler had possibly fled the LaBarge area in a pickup truck. Soon after that, a Sublette County deputy found a vehicle and driver that matched the description issued.
The deputy tried to pull the truck over but the driver, identified as Fowler, fled southbound on Highway 191 from Pinedale, says the statement.
The statement says he accelerated to between 90 to 100 mph and crossed the county line into Sweetwater County as multiple agencies – now including the U.S. Marshals Service – chased him.
Fowler closed in on the small crossroads town of Farson, Wyoming.
Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers deployed spike strips north of the U.S. Highway 28 intersection.
Authorities put the Farson school district on lockdown as the pursuit drew near. The spike strips punctured the pickup’s front tires, slowing Fowler’s escape, says the statement.
But he made it another three miles, until WHP troopers executed a tactical vehicle intervention to stop the pickup, WHP agent Jason Roascio told Cowboy State Daily, after reviewing the incident report.
The tires were slowly deflating; the vehicle kept straining on. A trooper used a vehicle “with our special bumpers” to perform a controlled spinout of the vehicle.
It’s like hitting a billiard ball at a sideways angle with the cue, rather than straight on, Roascio confirmed.
When troopers do this maneuver, it causes “the vehicle to spin out in a semicontrolled manner,” Roascio said, adding that agents will then park in front of and behind the vehicle so it can’t flee again.
Agents took Fowler to the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
“The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office commends the collaborative efforts of all involved agencies, ensuring a swift and safe resolution to this incident,” says the document.
A Paper Trail
Fowler was initially charged with a variety of offenses in Rock Springs Circuit Court, but the prosecutor, Sweetwater County Deputy Attorney Alex Breckenridge, asked the court on Thursday to drop those charges because federal authorities have “a detainer on the defendant,” meaning federal authorities want to take Fowler into custody for their own case.
Those state charges were misdemeanor drug possession, leaving the proper lane of travel, interfering with police, eluding and reckless driving.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
