A man on the run from the law was apprehended in dramatic fashion on Hwy 64 West near Winding Stair Gap on Thursday morning.
On Jan. 7, Clay County sheriff’s deputies attempted a vehicle stop on Benjamin Dann Owens, a subject with warrants for arrest in Clay, Macon, Swain and Buncombe counties, as well as in Georgia. Owens fled in his vehicle and led the department in a high-speed chase until reaching Macon County, where a sheriff’s deputy working near the county line was able to lay out spike strips. Owens avoided the strips but took a turn too quickly at Winding Stair Gap, causing him to drive over an embankment and flip the vehicle. From there, he exited the vehicle and fled into the woods.
“We initially though that he had been ejected from the vehicle, but based on information provided by him, he actually crawled out himself,” Macon County sheriff Robert Holland said of the incident. “He made it about 400 yards up the mountain.”
It was an alarming scene for eastbound commuters on Hwy 64. Dozens of emergency vehicles had gathered at the nearest scenic overlook as officers set up a perimeter and searched for Owens. The road was covered in ammunition (and, curiously enough, Magic: The Gathering trading cards) that had been flung from the vehicle when it crashed.
“Deputies narrowed down his location and were able to take him into custody without further incident,” according to a release from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. “Owens was transported to Mission Hospital and was later released to the custody of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.”
Clay County sheriff Bobby Deese said he did not believe that Owens had any immediate plans for the weapons that were recovered. His known warrants reveal past charges of hit and run, assault on a female, probation violation, assault with a deadly weapon, driving while impaired, eluding arrest and a variety of drug dealing offenses.
“Anyone like that is a threat to anyone, but he wasn’t making threats to anyone in the public or anything like that,” Deese said.
Owens is currently being held at the Haywood County Detention Center under a $5 million secured bond. His court date is set for Monday, Jan. 25.