Sheriff’s Office Searching for Suspect
The Perry County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the man accused of destroying a Shawnee Police cruiser.
Sheriff William Barker said 35-year-old Christopher Vernon was released on bond and is currently on the run from law enforcement. They’re asking anyone with information regarding his whereabouts to contact the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said on September 26, a Perry County Sheriff’s Deputy was patrolling in the Village of Shawnee when he came across a suspicious vehicle. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle which led him on a pursuit onto a private dirt road.
The deputy stopped the pursuit finding the road unsafe. He then went to the sewage plant to check the area and found a Shawnee Police Cruiser on fire.
During the investigation deputies also located a second vehicle on fire two miles from the sewage plant, the same vehicle that fled from the deputy.
A Perry County Grand Jury indicted Vernon on several charges including two count of arson and one count each of breaking and entering, vandalism, disrupting public service and theft.
