Colony man arrested after two-week hunt

Garrett Cleaver, sought by local law enforcement after allegedly threatening a Humboldt police officer with an assault rifle before leading police on a chase through Allen County two weeks ago, has been arrested in Missouri.
Cleaver was arrested by U.S. Marshals Service officers without incident Monday afternoon at a north Springfield, Mo., hotel, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
Law enforcement there was acting on information obtained by investigators in Allen County, Sheriff Tom Williams told the Register. He declined to get more specific, other than to say another suspect was arrested along with Cleaver for aiding and abetting his escape.
Cleaver, 26, Colony, led an eight-mile chase after the car he was riding in was stopped in downtown Humboldt for a reported seat belt violation during the afternoon of Nov. 21.
Officers said he immediately fled from the car with a rifle in hand, briefly confronting a Humboldt police officer, before returning to the car and driving away.
The subsequent car chase ended near the intersection of Iowa Road and 2000 Street, when Cleaver crashed the vehicle. He once again fled on foot, rifle in hand.
Officers searched the area until dark before calling off the search.
Within a few days of the chase, the investigation started pointing to Cleaver being in the Springfield area, where he grew up and went to high school, Williams said.
“We forwarded the information to the U.S. Marshals and the law enforcement in Missouri and they took it from there,” Williams said. “I know they really put in a lot of work in the past few days.”
Surveillance of the motel convinced officers that Cleaver was hiding inside.
The arrest went off without a hitch, Williams said.
“They did an excellent job,” the sheriff said.
Cleaver also is wanted in Neosho County for homicide/negligent manslaughter with a vehicle, stemming from a crash in 2009 that killed a New Jersey man.
He also is wanted in Christian County in Missouri on methamphetamine charges, the News-Leader reported.
Cleaver is being held in the Greene County Jail in Springfield without bond.
“Now it’s up to the county attorneys to figure out when and where he’ll face charges first,” Williams said. “When they want us to come pick him up, we’ll get him.”