Man faces charges after chase

A 32-year-old Seymour man faces at least nine criminal charges in connection with his attempt to cash a stolen check Wednesday at a bank in Brownstown, police say.

The incident began when Brownstown Town Marshal Steve Scarlett received a report of a man attempting to cash a stolen check at Monroe County Bank in the Ewing neighborhood of Brownstown at 11:52 a.m. Wednesday.

“When I arrived, they pulled away from me,” Scarlett said of the incident that led to the arrest of Matthew Lakins.

Scarlett, however, said he was able to stop the 1999 Isuzu Rodeo at Bowles and Bridge streets, and the driver left the vehicle and allowed Scarlett to search him.

“While I was patting him down, the passenger jumped into the driver’s seat and drove straight into a trailer court,” Scarlett said. “I thought he was trapped because there is no way out of there.”

That man, later identified as Lakins, was able to drive over a steep embankment behind a business in that area and make it to Brickyard Road, allowing him to escape, Scarlett said.

A search for the vehicle, which involved Brownstown and county officers, eventually led to its discovery by Lt. Andy Wayman of Jackson County Sheriff’s Department wrecked in trees in the area of County Road 500N just before 2 p.m. Wednesday.

“While I was with the vehicle someone told me they saw someone walking along Baseline Road,” Wayman said Thursday.

Wayman said he left the accident scene and found Lakins walking along Baseline Road near County Road 600N.
“I asked him who he was, and he told me he was Matt Lakins,” Wayman said.

Wayman arrested Lakins and took him to Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.

Lakins faces charges of theft, auto theft, fraud forgery, resisting law enforcement, criminal recklessness, criminal mischief and reckless driving. About an hour after his arrest, jailers took Lakins to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour for injuries he sustained in the wreck.

County Officer Michael Carothers, who investigated the wreck, said Lakins also will likely face a charge of operating while intoxicated drugs. The vehicle was destroyed.

Scarlett said additional charges are possible against Lakins, and the first driver of the vehicle also faces potential charges.