UPDATE: The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officerinvolved shooting that occurred Monday morning on U.S. Highway 54, about five miles west of Pratt, Kansas.
The Pratt County Sheriff’s Office requested the KBI conduct an investigation on Monday, Oct. 23 at 10:50 a.m. KBI agents and the Crime Scene Response Team (CSRT) responded to investigate.
Preliminary information indicates that a motor carrier inspector from the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) observed a silver 2016 Honda Odyssey on the side of U.S. Highway 54 in Kingman County and stopped to offer aid. He ran the vehicle’s tag, and before the tag returned the van departed heading west. The tag then came back stolen out of Saline County, so KHP and deputies from the Kingman County Sheriff’s Office attempted to locate the vehicle.
They found the van stopped along the highway and positioned patrol vehicles in front of and behind it. The female driver then rammed a Kingman County patrol car and fled. A chase ensued and entered Pratt County, at which time the Pratt County Sheriff’s Office joined. During the pursuit the male and female occupants switched who was driving.
Law enforcement deployed stop sticks several times during the chase, attempting to slow the van. It came to a stop in the parking lot at the Casey’s convenience store at 1900 E. 1st in Pratt. The female passenger, later identified as Abyana Parker, 22, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, exited the vehicle and ran. A deputy with the Kingman County Sheriff’s Office deployed a taser during her arrest. Parker was arrested for aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, flee and elude, operating a stolen vehicle, interference with law enforcement, and criminal damage to property.
Meanwhile, the male subject, later identified as 29-year-old Ulysses M. Parker II, of Colorado Springs, fled in the opposite direction. He forced the occupant of a white 2007 F-350 pickup that was pulling a trailer and water tank out of the vehicle and stole it. Parker fled west on U.S. Highway 54, crossing the center line multiple times, endangering motorists and forcing at least one driver off the road. Parker then made a loop in a field and began heading back east, toward Pratt. Stop sticks were deployed and the vehicle eventually came to a stop. During the incident a deputy from the Pratt County Sheriff’s Office fired multiple times into the truck, and Parker was struck in the arm.
He was transported to a Wichita hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Parker was later released and was arrested for aggravated assault. Additional charges are expected. Both subjects were booked into the Kingman County Jail.
The KBI will conduct a thorough and independent investigation into this shooting. Once completed the findings will be presented to the Pratt County Attorney for review.
The KBI asks anyone who was driving in this area Monday around 10:45 a.m., and impacted or endangered by this incident, to call 1-800-KS-CRIME to provide a statement.
This investigation is ongoing.
ORIGINAL: A vehicle was reported stolen from the 1400 block of W State St on Monday, October 23. The victim, who had parked his silver 2016 Honda Odyssey at his workplace, later discovered the vehicle was missing.
At 3:30 am, the vehicle owner went out to the van, only to realize at 3:45 am that the key fob had been left inside. On going outside to retrieve the key fob, the vehicle was no longer there.
Another employee reported having witnessed the vehicle's departure, heading westward in the direction of Interstate 135. The colleague had assumed it was the owner departing.
The vehicle bears a Kansas handicap tag with the number 25404. Its estimated value is $10,000.