A local couple ran from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, and one is still running. On November 13, Marshall County Sheriff Danny Cryer and Investigator Damon Robinson were in a neighborhood on a tip about a stolen trailer out of Bryan County. According to the report, the owner claimed the thief took the trailer to a person in Marshall County who carried the nickname of “Bird.”
There is one well-known suspect in Marshall County that goes by the nickname “Jaybird,” so Cryer said he and Robinson were confident the trailer was taken to “Jaybird,” aka Colen Arnold. Before this incident, Arnold had $76,000 worth of outstanding warrants from Marshall County, and Cryer said those warrants had “forced him to find a residence outside of our state.”
With the assistance of the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, Marshall County was able to find Arnold’s last known residence, it was located in Sherwood Shores. Cryer and Robinson drove by the address where the suspect was listed to be residing and noticed a black 2017 Dodge Ram 4X4. The truck was missing the driver’s window, and it had a piece of wood hiding the license plate – indications that the truck was stolen.
Cryer contacted Grayson County, and relayed the information. Grayson County agreed and notified Cryer that they would assist in the arrest. The officers were unable to apprehend Arnold at that time. However, Cryer said an off-duty police chief would assist in locating the suspect.
“Later that same evening, Kingston Police Chief John Bridgeman was off duty and in the Sherwood Shores area doing some shopping when he noticed “Jaybird” was in the same store as he was.”
Bridgeman was quick thinking and walked outside to snap a few pictures of the vehicle Arnold was in. The suspect left the store and Bridgeman notified the MCSO and advised that Arnold was headed north to Oklahoma. His description of the suspect’s vehicle matched the stolen truck Cryer had seen earlier.
The deputies traveled to the south side of the county and posted at every location the suspect could possibly enter Oklahoma through. After having no luck of spotting the vehicle, Cryer, Robinson and Deputy Kasey Cox loaded into the sheriff’s vehicle to check Sherwood Shores in case the suspect had not left.
While exiting the Willis Bridge, the officers spotted the vehicle heading north in their direction. Cryer saw inside the cab and made a positive identification of Arnold, turned around and gave pursuit. The suspect reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour through the bridge construction, putting many people in danger.
The suspect then turned onto Buncombe Creek Road, then to Samuel Road. Then, the suspect made an almost critical mistake, he made a wrong turn toward a dead end.
Cryer had hope that he could box the suspect in. However, acting like a wild animal trapped in a no-win situation, Arnold made his own path. He drove through a few yards and took out some barbed wire fences.
According to the report, the third fence changed the course of the chase. “As we approach the cattle guard that Investigator Robinson has noticed, the suspect vehicle has found it is going too fast to make the tight turn across the cattle guard, so we rip through another barbed wire fence, this fence however held a surprise for both the suspect and me – a large mound of dirt (approximately threefoot-high) separated the two fields and both vehicles bounced as they cleared the mound of dirt.”
The dirt mount stopped the truck and forced the officers to chase Arnold on foot. Robinson wrestled with a barbed wire fence and still was able to get the female, later identified as Rebecca Johnson, into custody.
Unfortunately, with all the turmoil, Arnold managed to get away. Cryer said once he returned back to original scene, Robinson was elated because the female suspect – identified as Rebecca Johnson – would not stop talking.
Cryer and the deputies collected the items that Johnson was attempting to flee with, and found an eye glass case containing approximately four grams of pure crystal methamphetamine, along with syringes, spoons and various paraphernalia.
After loading Johnson into the police vehicle, officers turned their attention on the stolen truck. The license plate came off of an Infinity from a car lot in Durant, and the VIN number named a person in Big Springs, Texas as its owner. Cryer looked in the truck to find the steering column and gear shift busted; a pair of plyers was being used to shift the truck. Then, Cryer found something unusual.
“The GPS system had been cut from the dash and a rubber Halloween mask now covered the empty void, believing it will throw off any police or nosey people who may try to look in the vehicle and notice the GPS computer system gone,” Cryer said.
Before loading the truck onto the wrecker, Cryer found another eye glass case with methamphetamines, a pipe and a syringe.
Johnson was transported to the Marshall County Jail and charged with Possession of CDS, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Obstructing an Officer, all misdemeanors.
Arnold remains at large; he is not deemed a threat. He has multiple priors in Marshall County. His felonies are two counts of Concealing Stolen Property, and one count each for Bail Jumping, Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, and Possession of a Firearm After a Formal Conviction of a Felony. He also has a misdemeanor DUI and Possession of CDS.