Man Arrested After Leading Police on Chase Through Casper, Evansville

A Casper man was arrested early Thursday morning after allegedly leading police on a chase through the city.

William Tyler Midgett, 32, was booked into jail on charges of possession of methamphetamine as a third or subsequent offense, possession of marijuana as a third or subsequent offense, eluding, reckless driving and interference with police.

Charging papers say shortly before 3:45 a.m. Thursday, a Casper police officer saw a silver 2012 Toyota SUV fail to signal while turning. The officer tried to stop the vehicle near the intersection of South Wilson and East 15th Streets.

Instead of pulling over, the driver -- later identified as Midgett -- sped away from the officer. Midgett reportedly turned off his headlights and made a number of sudden turns before the officer stopped following the Toyota near East 15th and South Forest.

Officers maintained a presence in the area, and a detective later saw the Toyota traveling northbound on South Walsh Street, near East Eighth Street. The Toyota's headlights were turned off.

The detective saw the Toyota turn west onto East Eighth Street, then drive at a high rate of speed from Eighth to Forrest, to Swanton, to Fourth, to Country Club Road, to Sixth Street, to the alley between Sixth and Seventh from Missouri to Beverly, and then onto Beverly Street. The Toyota then accelerated rapidly and turned onto 24th Street, where officers again broke off the pursuit.

A short time later, officers again made contact with the Toyota and pursued with only marked patrol vehicles with overhead lights and sirens activated. During the chase, Midgett allegedly swerved into and drove in the oncoming lane of traffic "many times," including the blind overpass construction zone on North Poplar.

The pursuit continued into Evansville, where Midgett lost control of the vehicle at the intersection of Cielo Vista and Copper Streets. A detective positioned his marked vehicle in order to block the Toyota from moving.

Midgett allegedly got out of the Toyota and ran from the detective. The detective chased Midgett, ordering him to stop.

At one point, Midgett allegedly stopped running, turned toward the detective while reaching into his waistband, removed his hand and took what police called a "two-handed shooter's stance." Midgett then dropped his hands and again ran away from the detective.

The detective caught up with Midgett near Rio Vista and Copper, where Midgett was arrested. A search of Midgett's person allegedly turned up a digital scale, which police say is of the variety commonly used to weigh drugs.

Several small clear plastic baggies and a clear cylindrical container containing marijuana were allegedly found on Midgett's person as well.

Inside the Toyota, police allegedly found more containers which police believed were "likely to hold controlled substances," according to the affidavit. Multiple baggies inside the Toyota had a white, powdery residue.

One of those baggies tested positive for methamphetamine, police say, while a container marked as containing THC lotion indeed tested positive for THC, the active substance in marijuana.

Court documents say Midgett has been convicted of drug possession at least twice previously. At the time of his arrest early Thursday, Midgett was on probation for manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance.