An otherwise calm, rainy and typically slow Monday morning turned into a chaotic flurry of activity as local law enforcement converged on the area of Cross, Morgan, Wood, Clay and Columbia Streets to close in on and capture a suspect wanted on a host of offenses.

After a high speed chase into the city limits Monday morning, the pursuit came to an end with the suspect, Tyler D. Burton, being taken down and placed into custody by Albany Policeman Ricky Marcum as a host of other officers arrived just seconds later.

The suspect wasn’t arrested without incident, however, as the chase and ultimate capture followed a high-speed pursuit that saw the suspect passing vehicles in the city limits and leading officers on a zig-zag attempt to escape down Albany streets.

Before being apprehended, at least five vehicles had been damaged in collisions and one residence on Columbia Street had been damaged by the fleeing suspect.

When the suspect was eventually stopped and placed under arrest, 20 year-old Tyler D. Burton of Greensburg, Kentucky was facing 25 separate charges from the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department and Albany Police Department, including at least 19 felony charges.

According to Clinton County Sheriff Jim Guffey, the chain of events began for his department on Monday morning when he received a call about a 4-wheel ATV being in a weeded area near Shelley Street.

A short time later, a report of a stolen vehicle belonging to Scott Jones, a resident of White Street, came in and at that point, the Sheriff’s Department issued a BOLO (Be On The Lookout) warning to surrounding counties.

Later Monday morning, another report was given to the Clinton County Dispatch regarding another stolen vehicle belonging to Pam Smith of Liberty Lane and the owners were following the vehicle and suspect at that time, but were unable to keep the vehicle in sight due to the high speeds that the truck was being driven.

About 90 minutes later, dispatch received a call from Rick Melton of 1590 Auto Sales, informing that he was following the stolen Smith vehicle and was driving back into Albany at the time.

With members of both the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department and the Albany Police in pursuit, the suspect traveled at a high rate of speed through Albany, driving by the Clinton County Community Center, crossing Washington and Cross Streets before driving adjacent to the U.S. Post Office on Morgan Street before turning onto Clay Street.

According to police reports, the suspect reached speeds in the city limits that at times were in excess of 75 miles an hour, forcing several other drivers off the roadway and endangering the lives of several people.

During the chase, the APD cruiser being driven by Officer Marcum struck a vehicle on Cross Street, forcing that vehicle to strike a parked truck in the parking lot of Ferguson Brothers Hardware.

During the final seconds of the chase, in an apparent attempt to elude law enforcement officers again, the suspect backed into the driveway of Mike Rayburn, causing damage to a pickup parked in the carport of that residence.

Rayburn was at home when he heard the collision in his carport and came outside to investigate just in time to see the final seconds of the incident play out near his front yard.

After fleeing on foot from the scene, the stolen red Chevrolet Colorado truck rolled across the road and came to rest after striking the front porch of a residence occupied by Alex Beaty.

Burton was eventually arrested near Lay Simpson Furniture Company, located on the opposite side of the block from where the suspect abandoned the truck.

During a search of the vehicle, Sheriff Guffey found several items believed to be stolen, including five sets of vehicle keys that were determined to have been taken from Poore’s Auto dealership in south Albany, where the 4-wheeler involved in the initial call had been stolen.

The search also resulted in the discovery of a quantity of “white crystal-like substance” that had characteristics of methamphetamine, as well as several syringes.

In addition, three large kitchen types knives were found in the vehicle as well as other items that are believed to have been stolen.

Burton was lodged in the Clinton County Jail.

In addition to Sheriff Guffey and Officer Marcum, also involved in the pursuit and eventually arrests included Clinton County Sheriff Court Security Officer Jose Lados, Clinton County Constable Gilbert Daniels, Albany Police Chief Ernest Guffey and Albany Police Assistant Chief Lyle Pierce.

After a high speed chase through Albany that resulted in several vehicles and a home being damaged, Tyler D. Burton was taken down and escorted to an awaiting Sheriff’s vehicle by Albany Police Officer Ricky Marcum, in the photo at left. In the photo at right, Burton is thoroughly searched by Sheriff’s Department Court Security Officer Jose Lados and Constable Gilbert Daniels, before being placed in a Sheriff’s Department truck.