A Mineral man accused of driving recklessly with a 10-year-old passenger on Saturday, Aug. 5, while fleeing from an officer who was attempting to pull him over for stealing an ATV is facing felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
The man, identified as William H. Tipton, 41, of Mineral, was in custody at the Lewis County Jail as of Monday afternoon. Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler set his bail at $20,000 during a preliminary hearing Monday afternoon.
Tipton is accused of fleeing from a deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office who tried to pull him over in the 3400 block of state Route 7 as part of an investigation into a stolen ATV, according to court documents.
The owner of the ATV contacted law enforcement sometime after 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, to report the theft. The ATV’s owner had reportedly loaned the ATV to another party, who, after some complications with a hitch, had Tipton transport it on a trailer. When the other parties arrived at the place where the ATV was supposed to be, they found the trailer but the ATV was no longer on it, according to court documents.
The party reportedly told law enforcement “he attempted to explain the need to return the ATV (to Tipton), but Mr. Tipton told him it was in the lake with no further details,” according to court documents.
While allegedly fleeing from law enforcement, Tipton reportedly “passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed” before turning into a driveway in the 110 block of Pleasant Valley Road, nearly struck a pickup truck parked there and “began spinning its tires and threw rocks everywhere.” The pursuing deputy reportedly “observed multiple subjects, including children, near the driveway” Tipton’s truck had pulled into, according to court documents. The deputy reportedly saw a juvenile exit the passenger’s side of Tipton’s vehicle before Tipton allegedly drove back onto Pleasant Valley Road.
“Due to the nature of the driving, (the deputy) slowed down and made sure everyone was OK,” according to court documents.
The juvenile who exited the vehicle was identified as Tipton’s 10-year-old son, who told the deputy “when his father saw (the deputy’s) patrol vehicle, he stated he wasn’t going to go to jail today.” The juvenile reportedly advised “when the vehicle stopped in the driveway, his father told him to get out and he did,” according to court documents.
The deputy did ultimately locate and arrest Tipton, who was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 9:20 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6, according to jail records.
While at the jail, Tipton allegedly “told jail staff he ran from the police and got away,” according to court documents.
Tipton was charged Monday with one count each of theft of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, reckless driving, first-degree driving with a suspended or revoked license and reckless endangerment.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 10.
