By Ray King
A $10,000 cash only bond was set Thursday for a Jefferson County man who led sheriff’s deputies on a high speed chase while driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen.
Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney set the bond after ruling prosecutors have probable cause to charge Ricky Lenard, 61, with theft by receiving and felony fleeing.
Reading from a probable cause affidavit from sheriff’s Investigator Terry Wingard, Deputy Prosecutor Caleb Conrad said Wingard had received information from a confidential informant that Lenard was sitting at Fitzhugh Cemetery in a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Foster’s Wrecking Company.
When a deputy went to the cemetery, he found Lenard at the back of the cemetery in the vehicle and when Lenard saw the deputy, he left the scene at a high rate of speed. Conrad described what happened next.
The pursuit continued until the vehicle got stuck and Lenard fled into the woods. Tracking dogs from the Arkansas Department of Corrections were called and tracked Lenard for two and-a-half hours before he was found hiding in a deer stand two miles from the site where he had abandoned the vehicle.
Conrad said Lenard waived his right to an attorney and told Wingard why he ran.
Conrad said Lenard had a criminal history that dated back “many years” and has current charges pending. The Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent Lenard.
