THP Searching For Suspects Involved In Pursuit
Nashville, Tennessee — The Tennessee Highway Patrol and law enforcement authorities from several counties are searching in Dekalb County for the two suspects who were involved in a pursuit this morning and fled on foot after crashing the stolen vehicle they were riding in. These are believed to be the same suspects who were involved in a separate pursuit Thursday in White County.
Kirk Douglas Fincher and Nicklas Hickson allegedly stole a gold 1997 Toyota Avalon Thursday from a home in White County. A Tennessee State Trooper spotted the vehicle as it was traveling westbound on Interstate 40 near mile marker 268 at approximately 8:15 a.m. this morning. After back-up arrived, Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle. Officers pursued the Avalon from I-40 to Highway 53 South and then to Highway 264 where the suspects wrecked the vehicle near mile marker 4.
The two men, believed to be Fincher and Hickson, fled on foot. Two dozens State Troopers, including K-9 teams and members of Special Operations, are participating in the manhunt Saturday, as well as officers from the TBI, the Cookeville Police Department and Dekalb, Smith, and White counties.
On Thursday, Fincher, a convicted felon from Kansas City, Missouri, was one of three occupants in a 2002 Black Ford pick-up truck who lost control and crashed during a pursuit on Old Kentucky Road in White County. At approximately 8:00 a.m., Thursday morning, Trooper Michael Loftis observed the Ford pick-up on Interstate 40 at mile marker 287 in Putnam County. Trooper Loftis attempted to stop the truck for following another vehicle too closely, and that is when the pursuit began. Trooper Loftis followed the vehicle on Highway 111 South to Old Kentucky Road before the suspects crashed near the airport area. Authorities believe Fincher later broke into a White County home and stole the Toyota Avalon.
A 17-year-old occupant of the vehicle is in custody. He was spotted near a church by local residents and arrested at approximately 4:20 p.m., Thursday, by a White County Sheriff’s deputy and Trooper Loftis.
Fincher was released from a Missouri prison in January 2008, after serving a 17-year sentence for homicide of a police officer. A picture of Fincher is attached. There is no description of Hickson at this time.