From the Izard County Sheriff’s Office:
What started out as a call of criminal mischief and assault turned into a vehicle pursuit causing injury to an Izard County Deputy.
On September 30, 2024, at approximately 12:40 p.m., the Izard County Dispatch received a call from a local business owner about a vehicle turning into their parking lot and throwing gravel all over parked cars. Within a few minutes, a victim advised the suspect vehicle purposely turned toward him and hit him with his fender knocking him back.
A deputy was able to locate the suspect vehicle, a black Chevy truck with no license plate, and attempted to stop the vehicle on HWY 69 just South of Melbourne. The vehicle refused to stop and accelerated to high speeds heading toward Mount Pleasant. The pursuit lasted approximately an hour traveling from Melbourne to Mount Pleasant, Zion, Sage, and near Sidney before coming back to Mount Pleasant.
When the suspect vehicle turned onto Barren Fork Road, near the end of the pursuit, Chief Deputy Steve Davidson had blocked the road at the Barren Fork Bridge with his patrol vehicle. Chief Davidson had got out of his vehicle. The suspect vehicle did not slow down and headed directly toward Chief Davidson’s vehicle. Chief Davidson fired his shotgun at the vehicle just prior to the suspect vehicle hitting Chief Davidson’s patrol vehicle. The result of the crash caused Chief Davidson’s patrol vehicle to hit him causing serious non-life threatening injuries.
After the crash, the suspect fled on foot and was apprehended within a short time. The suspect was identified as Zachoria Henry, 27 of Melbourne.
The Arkansas State Police was contacted and has taken over the investigation.
Sheriff Charley Melton would like to thank Independence County Sheriff Shawn Stephens and his department for their assistance in this incident.