Managing Editor

Aug. 21, 2000 10 PM

A Sunday car chase that started in Montgomery ended in Troy when members of the Troy Police Department, including the K-9 Unit, tracked the suspect down with dogs and apprehended him.

Douglas Tyrone Armstrong, 30, of Montgomery, has been charged with first-degree theft for allegedly stealing a 2000 model Ford Mustang belonging to a Montgomery man who had barely avoided disaster in the minutes before his car was taken.

According to sources, the Mustang’s owner was parked in the median of Highway 231 in Montgomery giving details to Alabama State Troopers about an accident he had witnessed. The wreck apparently involved a vehicle that flipped end over end, passing over the top of the new Mustang as it was on Highway 231 in Montgomery.

While discussing the accident with Troopers, Armstrong allegedly walked up and hopped in the car belonging to the witness.

Troopers saw the suspect as he was heading south on Highway 231 and at 3:48 p.m., the Troy Police Department was notified that the suspect was headed their way.

According to Chief Anthony Everage, the Troy Police acted swiftly to "deploy spikes along the Highway to force the individual to stop."

The suspect, traveling south toward Troy at a high rate of speed with Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies in pursuit, apparently lost control of the vehicle near Pike County Road 52, said Sgt. Benny Scarbrough, public information officer for the Troy Police Department.

"He was near County Road 52 and 105 when he lost control of the vehicle," Scarbrough said "It was a one-car accident. No one was injured in the wreck."

Scarbrough said it hasn’t been determined whether or not the spikes punctured the vehicle’s tires.

"A few miles after he dodged the spikes, he lost control of the car, causing him to wreck it," Scarbrough said. "He wound up on the northbound side of the highway and he exited the vehicle running into the woods on the east side of Highway 231."

The Troy Police Department called in dogs and dog handlers to track the suspect into the woods south and easy of the Troy Municipal Airport.

"We called in the K-9 unit and handlers came out to search for the suspect with police dogs," Scarbrough said.

The hunt, though, was a short one, ending when Everage, assisting his officers in the tracking the suspect, located Armstrong hiding in the woods.

"We got the all at 3:48 that he was headed our way," Scarbrough said. "By 4:48, he was in custody."

The suspect was arrested by Troy police officers without incident, Scarbrough said.

The TPD turned Armstrong over to the custody of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept. Armstrong is in the Montgomery County Jail at this time.

"He is charged with first degree theft and related traffic offenses," Scarbrough said.

Everage said he appreciates the good work by the TPD’s K-9 unit and the assistance his department received from other agencies.

"Our officers reacted very professionally and did a great job here," Everage said "We certainly appreciate the assistance we got from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, the Alabama Department of Public Safety and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. Those agencies were instrumental to our success in bringing this suspect into custody."