‘Like a bag of topsoil’: Deputy carries suspect into custody after alleged police chase

CLAY COUNTY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Clay County Sheriff’s Office shared photos of an unusual arrest that had one deputy carrying more than his own weight to apprehend a suspect.

Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, April 15, deputies were informed that a driver — 31-year-old Joseph A.F. Gray — allegedly tried to hit a Richmond Police Department officer’s vehicle before taking off on 210 Highway toward Clay County.

Court documents state that the chase started after the officer observed Gray driving erratically and making a “hand-to-hand transaction” with another man at a gas station. The officer said he followed Gray for a time and tried to conduct a traffic stop, but Gray resisted, tried to hit him and ultimately initiated the chase.

According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Gray “very recklessly” drove into oncoming traffic. The Richmond officer alleged Gray reached speeds as high as 130 miles per hour and turned his headlights off at times before he crashed near Ameristar Drive.

Gray then ran into the nearby woods and had to be found with the help of drones and a K9 officer. When deputies got to Gray, they said he told them he was too injured to walk back out of the woods.

“Deputy Milum solved that problem by throwing him over his shoulder and carrying him out of the woods like a bag of topsoil,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

Gray was purportedly found to have methamphetamine on him when he was arrested. However, the court documents state that there was a “lack of communication” and a “questionable chain of command” at the scene that prevented drug charges from being filed.

The Richmond officer involved in Gray’s arrest reported finding several previous charges in his criminal history, including armed criminal action, kidnapping causing serious injury and first-degree robbery.

Gray is currently in Ray County custody on two felony charges of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention and tampering with a motor vehicle. His initial appearance in court is scheduled for April 21.

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