Published: January 12, 2009 04:28 pm      

3 arrested for theft, assault

Coal County — Three people were arrested after allegedly stealing oil field pipe and colliding with law enforcement vehicles at a road block Sunday.

According to Coal County Sheriff Roy Deck, Derick Lynn Hampton, 20, Damon Damron, 21, and a 29-year-old female passenger were arrested on suspicion of various crimes after the incident.

Deck said deputies Justin Johnson and Nathan Mullins were on routine patrol on Low Water Road east of State Highway 75. Just after 1:30 a.m., a passerby told Johnson three people were hot-wiring a forklift to steal construction pipe from an oil field.

While en route to the oil field, Mullins spotted the suspect vehicle loaded with pipe approaching him. He stopped and activated his emergency lights and ordered the driver, Hampton, to stop the vehicle. Hampton reportedly did not comply.

“He continued toward me recklessly,” Mullins said. “I then drew my handgun and stepped to the side, moving out of the path of the vehicle. As (Hampton) was driving by me, I yelled at him numerous times to stop the vehicle.”

Hampton reportedly ignored Mullins' orders and kept driving down Low Water Road. Johnson was approaching and pulled his patrol car into Hampton’s path.

“I then activated my emergency lights and positioned my patrol car sideways in the middle of the road to set up a roadblock,” Johnson said. “The vehicle kept approaching my patrol car and swerved to the right and struck the front of my patrol unit.”

Deck said Damron was a passenger in the vehicle and jumped out before it crashed into the deputy’s unit. He said Hampton was arrested on suspicion of grand larceny, attempting to elude a police officer, failure to stop at a road block, failure to obey a lawful order, larceny of construction equipment and two counts of assault on a police officer with a dangerous weapon.

Damron was arrested on suspicion of grand larceny and larceny of construction equipment. Deck is withholding the identity of the female pending charges, if any.

He said the pipe belonged to an oil company and is valued at $12,000.

In December, Hampton and Damron were arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine in Coal County, according to Deck.