SALINE COUNTY, AR – A man wanted in Arkansas has been arrested after a high speed chase in Kentucky.
The Saline County Sheriff’s Office issued a news release on Friday detailing how the search for Trent Tyrone Smith, 41, stretched to outside the state and led to his capture.
The victim of a domestic disturbance in Bauxite that happened early Thursday morning called for help and identified Smith as their attacker. Deputies say the victim was assaulted with a weapon and that Smith had also tried to run over them before he left the scene. The victim also told deputies that Smith said he would not be taken alive by police.
The SCSO then started contacting neighboring police agencies about the search for Smith and provided real-time information on Smith’s possible whereabouts to state police in Tennessee and Kentucky.
Late Thursday afternoon, police officers in Munfordville, Kentucky spotted Smith driving a red Dodge Dart and tried to make a traffic stop but he keep driving. A chase went on for 20 miles involving several Kentucky law enforcement agencies with speeds reaching 120 miles per hour.
When Kentucky State Police (KSP) units set up spike strips on Interstate 65, they say Smith went around the strips and tried to hit two troopers with his speeding vehicle. He was finally stopped when a patrol car rammed Smith’s vehicle. Two other police cruisers were damaged in the chase.
Smith was then taken into custody by the KSP. When he complained of pain in his leg, he was taken to a hospital for treatment before being booked into jail.
Smith faces two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and a string of traffic violations. He will face those charges in Kentucky before being brought back to Arkansas. Charges he will face in the Bauxite incident include: two counts of attempt to commit 2nd degree murder; four counts of aggravated assault; two counts of terroristic threatening; and one count of domestic battery.
The SCSO says its investigation found that Smith has an extensive criminal history.
