Officials release details about police pursuit

The 19-year-old Dodson man accused of shooting at police led law enforcement officers on a chase that spanned three counties and reached speeds in excess of 110 mph, Havre police said. The chase ended with the man's arrest in Dodson in Phillips County about 4 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Travis R. Wing remained in the Hill County Detention Center today on $100,000 bond. He has been charged with assaulting an officer, criminal endangerment and vehicle theft, all felonies.

Police and prosecutors released more information about the alleged incident on Friday afternoon.

It began about 2:50 a.m. Thursday after a woman reported that her 1995 Chrysler New Yorker had been stolen from the parking lot of Oakwood Village in Havre. A Hill County sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle just east of Havre on U.S. Highway 2, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hill County.

Wing, who was driving the vehicle, failed to stop when the deputy tried to pull him over, and instead led officers on a chase that lasted more than an hour, Havre Assistant Police Chief Mike Barthel said.

The two Hill County deputies involved in the chase broke off pursuit near Harlem as other officers took over, Hill County Attorney David Rice said.

Blaine County sheriff's deputies took up pursuit in Harlem, the sheriff's office said.

After the chase entered he Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Wing fired multiple shots from a semiautomatic handgun at a tribal officer, according to a charging document filed in Phillips County.

Fort Belknap police returned fire, Barthel said. No one was injured in the exchange.

Wing also is accused of attempting to run over a tribal officer. According to the criminal complaint filed by Phillips County Attorney Edward Amestoy, Wing nearly struck officer Richie Phillips with the stolen car about a quarter-mile east of the reservation.

Wing ditched the vehicle just outside Dodson and fled on foot, Barthel said. Wing was apprehended in Dodson.

Rice also filed a charge of felony criminal endangerment against Wing for an incident that occurred in Havre prior to the car chase.

According to the criminal complaint, Wing discharged a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun inside a 2000 Daewoo while he was passenger in the back seat of the vehicle. The vehicle was traveling on First Street when the shot was fired, Barthel said.

Wing threatened to kill the driver and two other passengers because they refused to let him drive the vehicle, the criminal complaint said. Wing then "knowingly engaged in conduct that created a substantial risk of death ... when he shot a firearm through the roof of the car in the direction of the front seat passengers," the complaint said.