UPDATE: Lanett man arrested for failing to pull over for police and running into woods

Published 2:42 pm Thursday, September 12, 2019

LANETT — A Lanett man was arrested Wednesday by the Lanett Police Department for failing to pull over for police on Tuesday, according to the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department.

William Lamar Yarbrough, 41, has been charged with attempting to elude after deputies attempted to make a traffic stop on a blue Pontiac Vibe County Road 212.

Yarbrough attempted to flee from deputies, causing the sheriff’s office to place spike strips on the County Road 222 to disable the vehicle.

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Once Yarbrough drove over the spikes, he lost control of the car and hit a tree. He then exited the vehicle and ran into a wooded area. Deputies searched for the suspect Tuesday night but were unable to find him.

According to police, in the early hours of Wednesday, the sheriff’s office received complaints of a white male in the area of County Road 212 and County Road 222 knocking on resident’s doors wanting to use a phone.

While deputies continued to look for Yarbrough, the sheriff’s office was notified that the Lanett Police Department found the suspect in the Lanett city limits and had taken him into custody on unrelated charges.

Lanett Captain Richard Casner said Lanett Police picked up Yarbrough on additional charges for attempting to elude in the 5600 block of 13th Street SW.

According to Casner, Yarbrough was found in a former residence where his estranged wife had asked to have the locks changed. When the wife’s father came to the residence to change the locks, he noticed someone might have been in the house, so he called the police.

When officers arrived and entered the home, Yarbrough jumped out of a window and ran into another yard. Officers gave chase and administrated Tasers to subdue Yarbrough.

Once officers took Yarbrough into custody, he had to be taken to the hospital due to his injuries from the car accident the night before. Casner said officers sat with Yarbrough from about 5 p.m. to about midnight when they eventually released him on a bond of his own recognizance, after doctors told officers they would need to keep him longer.

Casner said releasing a suspect on a bond in that fashion is rare, but they planned to arrest him again once he was released from the hospital. However, the sheriff’s office made the arrest once Yarbrough was released from care.

Chambers County Sheriff Major T.J. Wood told the Valley Times-News Thursday that Yarbrough bonded out of jail before a booking photo could be taken.