Dylan O. Lawyer

     A rural Gassville man, 25 year old DYLAN O. LAWYER, was arrested this morning in Fulton County following a vehicle pursuit that began on U. S. Highway 62 East in Baxter County.

     At approximately 6:33 AM, Baxter County Sheriff’s Corporal David Estes met a Grey Chevrolet Pickup Truck heading East bound on U. S. Highway 62 at 91 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone.  Corporal Estes pursued the vehicle for the purpose of initiating a traffic stop.  The driver of the vehicle refused to stop and fled East bound toward Fulton County at high speed.  Sheriff’s Lieutenant Terry Johnson was ahead of the pursuit and joined it.

     The driver entered Fulton County and proceeded through the Geep community with deputies still pursing at high speed and with the suspect driving in a very reckless manner.  At approximately 6:41 AM, the driver turned North on Enterprise Road in Fulton County, which is a dirt road.  Deputies lost sight of the vehicle in the dust cloud on the dirt road and discontinued active pursuit at that point.  At approximately 6:45 AM, deputies found the vehicle stopped on Enterprise Road, but the driver had fled on foot.  A subsequent check with the registered owner of the vehicle revealed that it had been stolen sometime overnight from an address on Basswood Lane in Baxter County.  There was a handgun in this vehicle, which was recovered from the truck where it had been abandoned.  There was substantial damage sustained by the stolen vehicle during its theft and during the pursuit.

     A canine tracking team from the Arkansas Department of Corrections – North Central Unit was called to the scene to search for the suspect, and deputies from both Fulton County and Baxter County converged on the area.  The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was also launched to assist in the search. 

     A search of the area continued until approximately 9:50 AM.  A white pickup truck then approached an established roadblock and stopped.  The driver of the vehicle was able to alert deputies that the person in the back seat was the suspect they were looking for, and he was immediately taken into custody.   It was then learned that the suspect had broken into an occupied home in Fulton County in the area where the manhunt was taking place.  The suspect forced the two elderly homeowners to get into the white pickup truck and attempt to drive him out of the area.  As they approached the roadblock, the driver told officers that the suspect was ordering the driver to plow through the roadblock without stopping.

     Further investigation in Baxter County linked the suspect to an attempted break-in of another occupied residence on Baxter CR 390 at approximately 5:30 AM this morning.  The suspect threw a rock through the window of the house to attempt to gain entry but he was run off by the homeowner.

     DYLAN O. LAWYER faces a multitude of felony charges in both Baxter County and in Fulton County.  LAWYER was taken to the Baxter County Detention Center and booked on Baxter County charges of:

Criminal Attempt to Commit Aggravated Burglary – Felony
Aggravated Assault – Felony
Breaking or Entering - Felony
Fleeing – Felony
Theft of Property (2 counts) – Felony
Possession of Firearm by Certain Persons (convicted felon) – Felony
Criminal Mischief - Felony
Habitual Offender – Penalty Enhancement

     The bond for DYLAN LAWYER on the Baxter County charges is $100,000, and he will appear before the Baxter County Circuit Court to answer on July 11th.   He also has a hold from Fulton County for various charges they will be bringing against him.

     DYLAN LAWYER has been booked into the Baxter County Detention Center alone a total of seven times since 2011.  Documentation indicates he was convicted on 12/13/2012 of several Burglary and Theft charges in six different court cases in Baxter County and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.  Nine months of the sentence was served in the Baxter County Detention Center from credit for time served awaiting trial and from awaiting available bed space at the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC).  He then served a few months in the ADC before he was released on parole.  Other charges were dismissed.  He is currently out on bond on an arrest for Theft of Property from June, 2019.

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff