CHUBBUCK — A 26-year-old local man was arrested Friday night after fleeing from police in a vehicle and then on foot during an incident that left a Chubbuck police officer injured, authorities said.

Michael Thomas Randall of Pocatello was taken into custody on two outstanding warrants and faces charges of felony eluding and misdemeanor obstructing and delaying an officer after surrendering to officers in the Pole Line Road area, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal obtained Monday.

The incident began around 7:57 p.m. Friday when Chubbuck police spotted a white 2001 Toyota Camry pulling onto Yellowstone Avenue from East Burnside Avenue with a headlight out, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in support of the charges against Randall.

Officers then observed the vehicle crossing the double yellow line and swaying while driving slowly on West Knudsen Boulevard, police said.

When police activated emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, an officer observed the two occupants inside the vehicle moving around and appearing to hide items near their feet, according to the affidavit.

The vehicle turned onto Parish Lane and repeatedly stopped and slowly rolled forward before turning into the nearby Wendy’s parking lot, police said.

The driver, later identified as Randall, then “very quickly accelerated through the Wendy’s parking lot” and entered Yellowstone Avenue without yielding, causing multiple vehicles to slam on their brakes, the affidavit states.

The officer then initiated a pursuit. Court records say he feared the way Randall was driving was a danger to the public.

The pursuit continued south on Yellowstone Avenue, where Randall drove into the northbound one-way lane of the diverging diamond interchange, police said.

Randall then turned into the Pine Ridge Mall parking lot at Yellowstone Avenue and Brenaman Lane, continuing south until reaching a large divider between the parking lot and Quinn Road, police said.

Randall then accelerated over the divider, driving over grass and through trees before continuing through the U-Haul storage facility parking lot, police said.

Randall ended up on the curb on the east side of Pole Line Road with the driver’s door open and coasting at a slow speed, according to the affidavit.

Randall then fled on foot, running south on Pole Line Road, police said.

The officer pursued Randall on foot and drew his Taser, ordering Randall to stop or be tased, according to the affidavit.

Randall stopped, out of breath, and stated he gave up, police said.

However, when officers attempted to handcuff him, Randall tensed up his body and refused to put his hands behind his back, requiring officers to force his arms into position, police said.

During the struggle to place Randall in handcuffs, a Chubbuck police officer suffered a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand, according to the affidavit.

The officer received treatment from Pocatello Fire Department paramedics at the scene, who wrapped his finger in a splint. He did not require hospitalization.

Officers said Randall continued to resist being escorted to the patrol vehicle, refusing to walk and trying to fall to the ground. Officers had to walk him backward to the vehicle, police said.

A Pocatello Police Department K-9 gave a positive indication for drugs in the vehicle, and officers subsequently found a clear pipe with white residue and burn marks, along with two plastic “tooters” with burn marks and residue, the affidavit said. Officers noted the contraband was commonly used for smoking narcotics.

After being read his Miranda rights, Randall admitted he had smoked fentanyl earlier in the day and stated he did not know the identity of his passenger, claiming he had picked him up off the side of the road, police said.

The passenger was not located.

While being transported to jail, Randall told Officer Lusk he had “knowingly run” from police due to his outstanding warrants and stated he was “scared of the 19-year sentence that hung over his head,” police said.

Randall also said the vehicle belonged to his girlfriend.

Randall’s two Bannock County arrest warrants were for failing to appear on a possession of a stolen vehicle charge and violating his conditional release on a drug-related charge, according to court records.

In addition to the felony eluding and obstructing charges, the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office also filed notice that it will seek a persistent violator enhancement based on Randall’s previous felony convictions.

Randall was subsequently taken to the Bannock County Jail.

He appeared before 6th District Magistrate Judge David A. Hooste for an arraignment hearing Monday, where his bond was set at $25,000.

Randall is scheduled to appear in court again Jan. 5 for a preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors will attempt to present sufficient evidence to elevate the case from magistrate to district court for trial.

{p dir=”ltr”}If convicted of felony eluding, Randall faces a potential sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.