Domestic assault and battery call leads police on lengthy foot chase before apprehending suspect

The Okemah Police Department received a call of a possible fight in an area behind Fiesta Mart on Woody Guthrie Sunday afternoon.

It was reported that upon arrival Officers Jay Ashley and Carl Fletcher heard screaming “coming from the are of the fenced dumpster area.

The two officers made approach towards the area and saw a man with his right arm around the neck of a woman. The man was identified as Terrell Wright and the woman was identified as his “ex-girlfriend,” Ashlea Barnes.

Another man stood in front of both of them, “yelling at (Wright) to let her go,” an affidavit file with the Okfuskee County District Court said.
The officers also gave commands for him to let Barnes go, but he responded with, “I’m going to f***** kill her.”

At that point, Barnes began to scream, but Wright squeezed her throat to cut the scream off.

The officers moved in, and Fletcher grabbed the suspect’s left arm to try and get it loose. He then pulled his taser out, in an attempt to subdue Wright, but he to the right and put Barnes in between the officer and himself.

Wright then let her go and began to flea. He first ran north out of the fenced dumpster area when the other man on the scene, identified as Anthony Spain, stepped between Wright and the officer, giving him enough time to get out of the area.

“Fletcher rain after Wright through the parking lot, giving commands to stop before returning to his unit and driving over to the Pepino’s Mexican restaurant, located northeast of the Fiesta Mart parking lot,” the affidavit said.

Eventually, Wright ran north of there and into the trees and brush, at which point Fletcher pursued after him on foot, while giving Ashley commands as to his last known location and direction.

It was advised that Wright was heading towards Interstate 40 on East Coplin Road. Fletcher then noticed Wright running on the north side of I-40, now running from an Okfuskee County deputy, “using moving cars to dodge” the deputy.

Fletcher, who at this point had gotten back to his patrol car, parked in the interstate’s median, exited on foot and pursued Wright.

Fletcher caught up to Wright about the time he was going to attempt to cross I-40 from the north side to the south through moving traffic.

The officer deployed his taser and made contact with Wright, which subdued him to the ground, at which time he was placed under arrest and “transported to the Okfuskee County Jail without further incident.”

“While on the way to the jail, Wright stated, ‘This is what happens when he uses meth for three days,” it was reported in the affidavit.
Also reported was that Wright was experiencing trimmers, his eyes were dilated and “his mind seemed to wander.”

Barnes told officers after the incident that she had filed a protective order against Wright. The officers observed injuries on both sides of the neck and left knee of Barnes, as well as the right eye of Spain and his hand where he struck Wright in the head while trying to help Barnes.

Wright is being held in the Okfuskee County Jail on complaints of domestic assault and battery by strangulation, threatening to perform an act of violence and obstructing an officer. He is being held on bonds that total $25,000.