Missouri man in jail after high-speed chase

    Linda Rose of rural Imperial said it was like a dream, “something you see on TV.”
    But she also now realizes they are lucky to be alive.
    Little did she know her encounter with Tevin Eugene Thompson Saturday morning involved a subject that had been in a high-speed chase through Phillips and Chase counties that began about seven hours earlier.
    Thompson, 30, of Centralia, Missouri is now in the Chase County Jail on a number of charges. There are also two felony warrants out on him in Missouri for stalking and failure to appear, according to Chase County Sheriff Kevin Mueller.
    Linda Rose said a ringing doorbell woke her up about 5 a.m. Saturday.
    After opening the door, a man stood outside, saying he’d wrecked his car and needed help, she said.
    She let him in and gave him something warm to drink.
    “He sat right down and we visited,” she said.
    Thompson told her he was from California and working his way back to Missouri when he wrecked his car, then wanted to know if the area had Uber or taxi service.
    “I told him no, we’re a rural area,” she said.
    She offered to call 911, but he said he could do that. That’s when she got up and went back into the bedroom and told her husband Larry to get the gun out, “and be ready,” she said.
    Then she called 911 and reported what was going on.
    She went back out of the bedroom and told Thompson she had called 911 “and he got mad,” she said.
    He pointed what she described as a very big knife at her, but Larry came out with the gun.
    “He told Larry to put down the gun but Larry kept it on him,” Linda said.
    Shortly after, Thompson ran out, headed southwest of their home.
    Thompson had walked about 5 miles to their home along Old Highway 6 after getting his car stuck east of Imperial.
    According to authorities, he left the county road, drove through a stubble field and went back onto a minimum maintenance road (738), where he became stuck.
    On Monday, Linda was asked if she now had second thoughts about opening the door to a stranger.
    “I was being good and kind. I thought he needed help,” she said.
Incident started in Holyoke
    While the vehicle chase took Thompson and authorities through Imperial and east of town Friday night, it all started about 10 p.m. in Holyoke, Colorado.
    The police department there had a run-in with Thompson, who was initially observed in a 2017 Hyundai black sedan about 10 p.m. entering Holyoke allegedly at a high rate of speed.
    After a Holyoke police pursuit through the community in which Thompson’s vehicle reached speeds of 100 mph and nearly collided with a police vehicle, Thompson headed east on Highway 6 towards Chase County.
    Holyoke officers continued their pursuit into Nebraska, when they reported Thompson was traveling in excess of 120 mph and driving recklessly.
    At one point during the pursuit, the Holyoke police report stated the suspect forced a vehicle off the roadway on Highway 6.
    Sheriff Mueller said his office was first contacted for assistance about 10:15 p.m., and joined the pursuit west of Imperial and took over as lead agency.
    The pursuit entered Imperial and the suspect’s vehicle turned east on 12th Street, running the stop sign at Highway 61 and continuing east on 738 Road.
    With Chase County, Imperial police and Holyoke police vehicles all in pursuit, the chase continued east 5-6 miles until the suspect’s vehicle left the county road, drove through the field and became stuck, Mueller said.
    The suspect ran from the vehicle into the canyons and the deputies lost sight of him, he said.
    A check of the vehicle revealed then that the driver was wanted in Missouri for multiple charges including 2nd Degree Stalking and a Failure to Appear charge for Stalking with Intimidation, Mueller said.
    A search was conducted for hours, Mueller said, with the use of a drone and the Nebraska State Patrol, Imperial PD and Chase County Emergency Management all assisting.
    The coordinated search was called off early morning, but the sheriff’s office continued patrolling the area, he said.
    It was at 5:34 a.m. when his office received the 911 call from Linda Rose that a person matching the description of the suspect had entered their home and threatened them with a knife.
    After officers found out Thompson had fled the Rose home, a search was made of the area and the suspect was located a mile and a half southwest of the residence in an open field.
    Mueller said hunters out that morning met the officers’ vehicles along Old Highway 6, and reported seeing a man walking, wondering if they were looking for someone.
    The suspect was apprehended by Mueller and Chief Deputy Mike Dukes and taken to the Chase County Jail. He was charged with Terroristic Threats, Use of a Weapon, Flight to Avoid Arrest and Willful Reckless Driving.
    He will also be facing charges in Colorado for Vehicle Eluding and First Degree Assault along with the original warrants from Missouri.
    His bond was set at $200,000 and he must post 10% to be released.
    A hearing is set for Thompson on Thursday this week in Chase County Court.
    Sheriff Mueller said once Thompson’s cases in Chase and Phillips counties are resolved, he’ll be extradited to Missouri.