Springfield man who led police on 107-mile-per-hour chase pleads guilty to firearm charge

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man who led a state trooper on a 107-miles-per-hour chase on Highway 65, pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing a firearm.

Clinton J. Haynes, 27, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Haynes has remained in federal custody since his arrest.

Haynes was arrested on Feb. 2, 2017, following a high-speed pursuit on U.S. Highway 65 by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper. The trooper attempted to stop Haynes’s vehicle, a gold Chevrolet Impala with expired plates and an illegally tinted driver’s side window. When the trooper activated his lights and siren, Haynes accelerated to 107 miles per hour. The trooper pursued Haynes as he overtook 31 vehicles, ignored a red stop light and passed a vehicle on the acceleration ramp.

Haynes’s vehicle eventually stopped on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 65 near Evans Road. Haynes fled on foot across the highway with the trooper in pursuit. Haynes then returned to his vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat. The trooper, with his service pistol drawn, ordered Haynes to get out of the vehicle, but Haynes refused. The trooper removed Haynes from the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.

While checking the path that Haynes fled, in the grass of the median, the trooper found a loaded Jimenez 9mm semi-automatic pistol. The trooper also searched Haynes and found a plastic bag containing 45.64 grams of marijuana in his pants.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Haynes has a prior felony conviction for robbery.

Under federal statutes, Haynes is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.