Archie Luther Hays II
Police arrested a Greenwood man Monday after a foot chase that ended in a random garage prompted two nearby schools to go on lockout.
Archie Luther Hays II, 51, was arrested on charges of criminal trespass, operating a vehicle while never having received a license and resisting law enforcement.
The pursuit started just before noon Monday when an officer spotted a man who was a suspect in a vehicle theft. The victim of the theft told police Hays had a parole warrant out of Wisconsin, and told the victim he wouldn’t go back to prison and would kill officers to get away, according to a Greenwood Police Department report.
The officer approached Hays at his residence in the 500 block of Smith Valley Road, turned on his police lights and drew his weapon. Hays fled police and ended up on a residential property, also in the 500 block of Smith Valley Road, where he climbed a fence and ignored warnings officers to stop running, according to the report.
The officer called for backup, including other Greenwood police officers and a K9. The owner of the residence where Hays trespassed opened their garage door, revealing Hays hiding inside. A BMV search revealed Hays did not have a driver’s license, the report showed.
Hays was taken to the Johnson County jail, where he is held on $6,000 bond.
Hour-long lockouts at Greenwood Community High School and Southwest Elementary School meant the regular school day continued, but movement in and out of the buildings was restricted, said Todd Pritchett, assistant superintendent at Greenwood schools.
“The threat level was not imminent. There was never a threat to the schools,” Pritchett said. “The lockout was just precautionary to try and ensure no one entered or left the building without administrative observance.”
