Man gets prison time, lifetime license suspension after leading law enforcement on chase

Along with his prison sentence, his driver’s license was suspended for life.

The sentence came after he was convicted of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer.

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The charge stemmed from a chase that took place on Nov. 3.

Prosecutors said a Greene County Sheriff’s deputy was conducting stationary traffic enforcement outside of Jamestown when he saw Neikirk commit a marked lanes violation.

When the deputy ran Neikirk’s license plate, he learned he was driving with a suspended license and tried to conduct a traffic stop on him, at which time Neikirk drove off at a high rate of speed on Old U.S. 35.

During the chase, Neikirk drove through several fields that had just been harvested, according to prosecutors.

After additional deputies and Jamestown police officers joined the chase, a supervisor called it off for public safety reasons.

Hours later, Neikirk was spotted near his parents’ home in Jamestown. He was later located by a Jamestown Police sergeant and a Cedarville Police officer trying to run away through the woods near the back of the property.

The Cedarville officer had to use his taser to take Neikirk into custody, according to prosecutors.

“Judge Tornichio did the right thing by handing down the maximum sentence in this case. Neikirk also had his license suspended for life, which I think should happen to anyone who leads the police on a chase. This conduct is completely unacceptable,” Prosecuting Attorney David D. Hayes said in a statement.

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