The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports five arrests. Last Thursday (Aug. 5th), 18-year-old Johnathan Scott Clarke,of Fontanelle, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct – Threat. He was taken into custody by Fontanelle Police at around 8:45-p.m. after he got into verbal altercation with another male that threatened to turn physical. Clarke was released that same evening on a $300 cash or surety bond.  At around 12:50-p.m., Thursday, 41-year-old James Bernard Block, of Cumberland, was arrested at the Adair County Jail on an Adair County warrant for Failure to Serve Jail Sentence. He remained in the Jail without bond, until his sentence is completed.

On Aug. 3rd, 40-year-old Timothy Robert Hudek, of Creston, was transferred from Creston Police at the Adair-Union County Line & Highway 25, and arrested on an Adair County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. Hudek was released later that day on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. A man from Illinois was arrested August 1st, following a traffic stop that result in a four-county pursuit where speeds approached 120-mph.

The incident began when a Trooper on patrol at around 8:30-p.m. on I-80 eastbound one-mile west of Menlo, when he saw a black Honda Accord coming up fast in the left lane, behind the Trooper’s vehicle. The vehicle was clocked at 90-mph. When he attempted to stop the Honda, the driver – later identified as 37-year-old Ramakrishna R. Ghanta, of Springfield, IL., failed to yield, and refused to acknowledge the Trooper when he pulled up beside the Honda and tried to get Ghanta’s attention. The car continued eastbound with speeds increasing to 120 mph as it entered Madison, Dallas and Polk Counties.

Spike strips deployed by a Dallas County Deputy were effective in blowing out one tire of the Honda, but the vehicle continued at 90 mph, while the tire lost rubber. Spike strips were deployed once again, causing both driver’s side tires to deflate and lose tread. As the car approached the Jordan Creek exit, it went out of control and into the south ditch. It continued through the ditch and jumped a small terrace before getting back on I-80 eastbound, approaching the west mixmaster (I80/35/235) and trying to exit onto I-35. The car went out of control again and crash into the south ditch, landing on its side.

Ghanta refused law enforcement commands to lay on the ground, and was taken into custody at gunpoint. While he was being transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Ghanta escaped and took off on foot down the Interstate. He was taken into custody, restrained on a gurney and sedated. Authorities say the man was unable to answer questions or make sense. Inside his vehicle they found several open containers of alcohol, and a basket he used for a toilet. Ghanta was charged with OWI/1st Offense, Reckless Driving and Eluding.  Bond was set at $5,000.

And, on Aug. 1st at around 12:40-a.m., at traffic stop on Highway 25 near Orient resulted in the arrest of 32-year-old Justen Michael Shannon, of Greenfield. He was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, cited, and later released.