SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - Prosecutors say they’ll seek a life sentence for a man who led police on a dangerous, two-city chase after shoplifting $20 worth of soap and Alka-Seltzer.
At the conclusion of a two-day bench trial Tuesday, state District Judge John Mosely found Noble Elias Bates of Frierson guilty of aggravated criminal damage to property and aggravated flight from an officer.
Assistant District Attorney Eddie Brossette said he plans to file a bill next Monday charging Bates as a habitual offender, which could result in a life sentence.
Bates, 51, shoplifted from a Kroger store in Bossier City the night of July 20, 2000. Bossier City police Officer Sam Wyatt was working security and tried to stop Bates. Bates scuffled with Wyatt and tried to disarm him. He then managed to flee to his car and nearly ran the officer over as he sped off toward Shreveport.
Bates rammed a Shreveport patrol car during the chase, forcing it into a pole and injuring officers Denver Ramsey and Kevin Anderson. Officers testified during the trial that Bates drove recklessly and may have hit speeds as high as 75 mph in areas with 25 mph speed limits.
A Shreveport officer fired three shots at Bates’ car to stop the chase, hitting Bates once in the left leg. Bates got out and ran a short distance before officers caught him. They found a crack pipe in Bates’ pocket.
Bates pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity last month.
He testified Tuesday that he sustained several head injuries growing up, was exposed to Agent Orange as an infantry soldier in Vietnam and takes medication for mental illness. He has been in the mental health section of Caddo Correctional Center since his arrest.
Bates testified he remembers “running for my life,” the day of the shoplifting and thinking someone was trying to kill him. His mind at some point flashed back to combat, he said.
In finding Bates guilty, Mosely said two doctors testified that Bates was aware of his actions, based in part on his detailed memory of the events, concealing grocery items in his clothes, eluding police, operating a car and the length of the chase.
Brossette described Bates as “someone who hasn’t learned his lesson,” listing a string of prior convictions dating back to 1974.
The judge made note of Bates’ lengthy record, which included “so many arrests for theft that I stopped counting after at least five.” At the time of Bates’ arrest, Shreveport police said Bates had been arrested 63 times and had been convicted of 23 crimes, ranging from misdemeanor and felony theft to narcotics and traffic violations.