Feb. 29--HARTSELLE -- A man arrested Monday faces 18 misdemeanors in connection with an incident in which he fled from deputies at speeds up to 156 mph, then hid his older-model Chevrolet Camaro in a barn, where the car's hot engine set fire to hay, authorities said.
Casey Todd Houser, 34, of 905 Perkins Wood Road, Morgan County, also faces a felony charge in an unrelated case involving hunting decoys stolen from a Danville storage building in early January.
"He had no warrants on him when he ran," Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin said. "He didn't know about the upcoming receiving stolen property charge."
Franklin said a deputy tried to pull Houser over Feb. 13 after seeing Houser driving "at an extremely high rate of speed" on Alabama 36 East.
The chase began at 2:36 p.m. and ended by 2:48 p.m., Franklin said.
In that 12 minutes, the chase went from Alabama 36 to Mount Tabor Road and then to Morgan County 55. Authorities were going to deploy spike strips on Morgan County 55, but Houser turned around, got back on Mount Tabor Road and went down New Center Road to Perkins Wood Road, where he pulled the car inside a barn at his residence and fled on foot, Franklin said.
"By the time that the deputies got there, the heat underneath the vehicle had started the hay on fire and the hay, part of the barn and part of the car burned," Franklin said.
Falkville police and state troopers had also joined the chase, and Falkville Police and Fire Chief Chris Free put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.
Franklin said authorities tentatively called schools in Priceville and Falkville to ask them to hold students, but the chase ended before school let out.
Houser escaped, but deputies were able to identify him and obtained warrants for his arrest on numerous charges, including reckless endangerment and reckless driving, and multiple counts of failing to signal, speeding, improper lane usage and failing to stop at stop signs.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the stolen property was developing.
Investigator Brian Langham said the Danville businessman who had his hunting decoys stolen filed a report after getting a lead on the estimated $2,500 worth of stolen hunting equipment.
"One of his regular customers came in and said, "Hey, I work with a guy that bought some stuff that sounds like this."
Langham said it didn't hurt that the victim's name was engraved or written on some of the property.
The property had changed hands more than once, but Langham said he ultimately traced it back to Houser. Langham obtained a warrant charging Houser with second-degree receiving stolen property.
Franklin said Hartselle police arrested Houser during a traffic stop Tuesday.
Houser had been released from jail following a community corrections violation Dec. 21. Franklin said Houser was in community corrections because of possession of a controlled substance.
He is now being held without bail in the Morgan County Jail on two community corrections violations in addition to the 19 other charges. His bail on the other charges totals $7,900.
Copyright 2012 - The Decatur Daily, Ala.
