Marijuana seized after high speed chase

A North Dakota man led law enforcement on an extended high speed chase on Sunday, reaching speeds well over 100 mph. The chase began when the suspect refused to exit his vehicle and ended with the discovery of a stash of marijuana that he appears to have hidden in some undergrowth.

Traffic Stop

On January 5, a Crook County Sheriff’s Office Deputy was patrolling Hwy 585 when he observed a white vehicle bearing a Texas license plate traveling north near milepost 26. Having clocked the vehicle at 77 mph in a 70 mph, the deputy executed a traffic stop.

The driver was identified as Harold William Barney III via his North Dakota driver’s license. Barney allegedly apologized for speeding and claimed he had thought the speed limit was 75 mph.

He told the deputy he had flown to Cheyenne from North Dakota and rented a car to drive home; he also allegedly stated he was planning to visit friends and places in South Dakota but could not provide any information about a location other than stating it was in the Black Hills.

Conflicting Stories

According to reports from the sheriff’s office, the deputy asked Barney about his travel plans again and this time was told the vehicle was rented in Denver. The deputy noted he could not see any personal baggage in the vehicle, which was unusual considering Barney had said he’d been traveling for four days.

A second deputy arrived on scene and the Crook County Sheriff’s Office narcotics canine was deployed around the vehicle. The dog alerted, so the deputy asked Barney if there was anything illegal inside.

Barney allegedly denied there being any illegal substances present and did not give consent to perform a search of the vehicle. According to sheriff’s office reports, the deputy explained he had probable cause to perform a search due to the K-9 alert and asked Barney to exit the vehicle.

Locked Out

However, at this point Barney allegedly locked the door, rolled up the windows and refused. For several minutes, the deputy reports attempting multiple times to have him exit the vehicle.

According to the report, Barney stated that he did not feel safe and was concerned law enforcement would cause him physical harm. The deputy states that he assured Barney he was safe and that all peace officers on scene had their cameras activated.

Barney, however, continued to refuse. The second deputy retrieved stop sticks from his patrol vehicle and placed them in front of Barney’s front tires, while the first deputy explained that, if Barney continued to refuse, he would have no choice but to break his window.

Barney still refused to exit. The deputy asked a Sundance Police Officer who was also on scene to retrieve a tool from his own vehicle to break the glass.

The officer did so and approached the vehicle. Barney allegedly began to move around inside the vehicle and reached for the shifter while the deputy issued loud verbal commands for him to remain still.

Barney allegedly placed the vehicle in reverse and backed up a short distance, causing the officer to move out of the way. Barney then allegedly drove forward rapidly while the second deputy was in front of the vehicle and fled the scene.

According to reports from the sheriff’s office, Barney fled east on I-90 without activating his vehicle’s lights and reached speeds of 117 mph. He took the Moskee exit and was allegedly traveling at around 100 mph when he went through the stop sign and headed east back onto the interstate.

The deputy reports that Barney continued to travel east at more than 100 mph, recklessly forcing other vehicles off the road, and then took the Aladdin exit. Here he allegedly stopped at the bottom, paused and turned north on Hwy 111.

Barney allegedly again drove through a stop sign at the intersection of Hwy 111 and the frontage road, continuing north. At this point, he was far enough ahead that the deputy reports losing sight of his vehicle near milepost 6.

A short time later, dispatch advised that the vehicle had been spotted in a driveway near milepost 3. The deputy turned around, activated his lights and siren and the pursuit began again.

At the intersection of Hwy 24, Barney allegedly again drove through the stop sign – still at a high rate of speed and still with his vehicle lights switched off – and turned west onto Hwy 24. The deputy advised dispatch that his speed was around 110 mph.

Barney then turned south onto Warren Peak Road, where the deputy lost sign of him again. The deputy reports he stopped at the intersection of Forest Service Road 832 and waited for the second deputy.

Stop sticks were placed across the road and the deputy continued south. After a few miles, he allegedly located Barney’s vehicle in the ditch.

The deputy reports that he exited his vehicle and used his PA speaker to command Barney to exit the vehicle with his hands up. He did not see or hear any movement from the vehicle.

When the second deputy arrived, the pair approached the vehicle and observed Barney face down between the seats. The deputy broke the window and unlocked the vehicle and found that Barney had a strong pulse and was breathing on his own but unresponsive.

Dispatch paged EMS to the scene and Barney was transported to Sundance Hospital, then taken to Rapid City via LifeFlight. Meanwhile, the deputy located fresh footprints in the snow heading into the woods.

The deputy followed the tracks around 100 yards and allegedly located an area where someone had laid down in the snow. He continued east and came to a draw, where he saw the tracks walked in a circle.

The deputy allegedly located multiple sealed containers of dispensary marijuana with receipts attached from Denver, Colorado. The containers were hidden in and under brush.

The suspected marijuana was weighed at the sheriff’s office. The total weight, including packaging, was 13.616 ounces.

Barney has been arrested on charges including two counts of aggravated assault and battery, two counts of attempting to cause bodily injury to a peace officer, possession of a controlled substance, aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, reckless endangering, interference with a peace officer and fleeing or attempting to elude police.