The Roanoke Times
AUSTINVILLE, Va. (AP) -- It was anything but the standard arrest.
Police in Wythe County needed about four hours to get John Olin Cross into custody Sunday, and by the time they did, he had led police on a short chase, ducked away from a gunshot, ducked into a home and then emerged acting as if he had done nothing wrong, escaped in shackles and finally locked up with a raft of charges to face.
Police said the difficulty began at about 11:16 p.m. Saturday when an officer talking to the driver of a suspicious car saw Cross pull up in a car. The officer, chief deputy sheriff Don King said, was very familiar with Cross from past dealings.
Deputy Stacy Dixon also saw what turned out to be a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol on the front seat of Cross’ Buick station wagon. When Dixon approached, Cross seemed very nervous and threw the pistol in the back seat, then drove off suddenly.
Cross stopped at a home in Austinville with Dixon in pursuit. Dixon shined a spotlight on the suspect and said he saw Cross reach into the back seat of the car, then climb out and point a pistol at Dixon, who fired. The shot missed Cross, who then ran around the back of the house, where Dixon said he heard a door slamming shut.
With officers from Wythe County, Carroll County and the Virginia state police now also on the scene, a woman named Tracy Elliott came out of the house and told deputies there was no one else in the house, even as they saw Cross peeking out a window.
Shortly thereafter, Cross came out the front door with a beer in hand. He did not have the gun with him and wanted to know what all the fuss was about, King said.
Cross was taken into custody without a struggle, and officers found the handgun in a crawlspace under the home. Cross was charged with attempted malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony, reckless driving and obstruction of justice, King said.
More than three hours later, Cross was shackled and handcuffed for transport to New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin when he broke free and fled again, King said.
Cross made it only across the street.
“You’ve got a limited amount of running power in shackles,” King said.
During his battle with police, the 6-foot-1 Cross sent one officer to the emergency room with injured ribs, and destroyed a radio that belonged to the Wytheville police.
That got him two more charges -- escape and destroying property -- before he finally was taken to the jail and was held without bond “for obvious reasons,” King said.
Elliott, 27, was charged with obstruction of justice.