Elk arrest yields stolen Deer Park pickup

May 9, 2012

A 38-year-old Spokane man was arrested in Elk last week following a high-speed chase in a stolen pickup truck.
Michael S. Wheeler, 38, who has a history of trying to elude police officers, was arrested at gunpoint on May 3 after a high-speed chase ended on Elk-Chattaroy Road near Deer Park Creek Road.
The chase began near 36900 Valley Road after Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Daniel Rahn spotted a 1986 Dodge pickup parked in his neighbor's driveway.
Rahn watched the driver approach a parked trailer. The driver told Rahn he was looking for copper wire when stopped, but he soon sped way and a chase ensued.
Rahn broke off the chase because of public safety concerns, but a sheriff's deputy arrested Wheeler at gunpoint after the suspect lost control of the truck while trying to avoid a spike strip.
Wheeler told police he had taken methamphetamine earlier that day, according to the arrest report. He said he didn't know the truck was stolen after police discovered the truck had been stolen earlier that day from a Sherman Road home in Deer Park.
Wheeler, who has a Department of Corrections warrant for escape, faces stolen vehicle and eluding police charges.