OSAGE COUNTY  — A Hermann man is jailed in Linn without bond following a two-county, high-speed pursuit Monday morning which began in eastern Osage and ended in eastern Gasconade County.

Joshua J. Tyree, 37, was charged Tuesday morning in a felony Osage County warrant alleging resisting arrest by fleeing and four misdemeanors including careless and imprudent driving, speeding 26 mile per hour over posted limit, failure to maintain financial responsibility, and failure to register a motor vehicle. According to the probable cause statement filed as the application for the warrant, Tyree has four prior convictions for driving while revoked and two for resisting arrest.

Osage County Deputy Angie Pinnell was monitoring traffic at County Road 212 and U.S. 50 in western Osage County at about 10:30 a.m. on Monday when she saw a grey Dodge pickup — registered to Kenneth Tyree on a 2009 Chevy and driven by Joshua Tyree — swerve across the centerline. He corrected by driving on the right-hand side of the road, then crossed the centerline a second time as he neared Pinnell.

She initiated a traffic stop, but Tyree fled, accelerating to speeds of more than 100 MPH while passing multiple vehicles on curves as he entered Gasconade County, eastbound from Mt. Sterling. Tyree turned left off of U.S. 50 at Morre Road and headed northeast toward Highway 19. 

Gasconade County 911 dispatched deputies, who were in position at Morre Road and Highway 19, when Tyree’s vehicle nearly collided with Gasconade County Sheriff Scott Eiler head-on.

Pinnell followed Tyree onto Morre Road but reduced speed due to dust and reduced vision. Tyree avoided a spike stick and continued to flee.

Tyree turned around and, while doing so, spun gravel onto Eiler’s patrol vehicle causing damage to the windshield. Gasconade County Lt. Rob Roberson, Maj. Roger Armstrong, and Eiler continued to pursue the vehicle traveling westbound on Morre Road.

Tyree drove at a high rate of speed directly toward Pinnell, who was forced to leave the roadway to prevent a head-on collision. Gasconade County deputies continued the pursuit as she turned around.

At speeds of more than 80 MPH on gravel roads, Tyree traveled southbound on Brandhorst Road, crossed Highway 19 onto Drake School Road, then right onto Barren Fork Road, then left onto Route ZZ, and went onto Lone Grove School Road. Roberson maintained visual contact with the vehicle as it continued to flee, as he radioed location and direction information to other responding officers. 

In her probable cause statement, Pinnell noted that Tyree traversed northeast to Route E. As she caught up with Gasconade County deputies on Lone Grove School Road, Tyree again turned around and drove directly toward Pinnell, who avoided a head-on collision for the second time.

Gasconade County deputies deployed another spike stick and punctured the right front tire successfully. That did not deter Tyree in his effort to escape. He continued eastbound on Route E with the tire falling off the rim, Pinnell noted. Eiler’s patrol vehicle then collided with the suspect vehicle, disabling the sheriff’s patrol vehicle.   

Tyree turned onto Horstmann Road before coming to a stop. He was taken into custody without further incident by Roberson and Armstrong at about 11:13 a.m. after being “assisted” by deputies “out of the vehicle and placed in double-locking handcuffs,” according to Pinnell’s statement.

After being advised of his rights, Tyree agreed to speak to Pinnell about the incident. When asked why he fled, Tyree said he was on probation and parole, was driving with a revoked license, and didn’t want to get into trouble. He also had no insurance, and the vehicle was not registered.

Pinnell transported Tyree to the Osage County Jail where he was booked.

Eiler said Tuesday the Ford F-150 he uses for a patrol vehicle received damage to the windshield, front bumper and a quarter-panel which he described as “minor.” A deputy had a minor hand injury handling a spike strip.

“The stop sticks did their job, deflating the front two wheels,” said Eiler of the one deployed by Gasconade County Det. Lynde Mantels, an Osage deputy, and himself. “Otherwise I would have terminated the pursuit if it went into Franklin County.”

Eiler and his deputies had been working out of their Swiss substation when the call to assist Osage County came in. “Everywhere he turned cops were there waiting for him,” said Eiler. “We figured he was trying to get back to Hermann.”