A Wright City man has been charged with multiple felonies including first-degree kidnapping, second-degree domestic assault, and aggravated fleeing following an incident Thursday, Nov. 12.
Police were dispatched to a residence in the 400 block of W. 2nd. St. N. shortly after 3 a.m. after receiving a report of a domestic disturbance.
Christian Thurman, 31, who allegedly had “devolved mentally and was paranoid and hyper vigilant as the result of drug use,” fled the scene before police arrived, according to a probable cause statement.
The victim in the case told police Thurman had argued with her for hours, prevented her from leaving, and put her in a chokehold, causing her to nearly lose consciousness, before he fled and she was able to call 911. The victim had injuries consistent with her account of events, the probable cause statement notes.
Wright City police issued a stop-and-hold alert for Thurman, and at approximately 4:20 a.m., a Warrenton police officer saw him stopped at a red light on southbound Highway 47 near the Interstate 70 overpass. Thurman allegedly turned onto I-70 and began quickly accelerating, so the officer activated his lights and sirens and began pursuing him.
Thurman allegedly drove 109 miles per hour in a posted 55 mph construction zone, then pulled off the interstate into a rest area, then left the road and drove through a grass area, then got back on I-70 traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes at high speeds. Police “observed several vehicles harshly apply their brakes and swerve out of the way” to avoid hitting Thurman as he drove the wrong way on the interstate through heavy traffic.
Thurman was located at approximately 7:22 a.m. back at the residence where the domestic assault was reported. He admitted to fleeing from police, having physical contact with the victim during the argument and blocking her from leaving, although he “stated he did not recall choking her and made various statements indicating she had injured herself,” according to the probable cause statement. Thurman was arrested and is being held without bond at the Warren County Jail.
Police Chief Tom Canavan commented on the incident involving Thurman at Thursday’s Wright City Board of Aldermen meeting, noting that his officers were still dealing with that incident when he learned that a student had stabbed three people at Black Hawk Middle School in Warrenton. That incident in Warrenton led to a large police response and students and parents having to wait hours to be reunified as law enforcement secured the scene and accounted for all students.
“It’s been a totally chaotic day, obviously. Prayers go out to all the families in Warrenton,” Canavan said. “While they were dealing with theirs, we were also dealing with our own chaos here, and I just want to give a shout-out to our officers.”
