By Pat Culverhouse

An off-road vehicle proved no match for a Webster Parish patrol unit and a Doyline man is now in custody after an unsuccessful attempt to evade the deputy.

Deputy Derrick Phelps was reportedly running radar Friday around 12:30 p.m. on Boothville Cutoff when he observed a Polaris side-by-side traveling on the roadway. When the deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the driver reportedly ignored the sirens and intercom demands to stop.

During the ensuing pursuit, the side-by-side driver reportedly drove through a yard at the end of Boothville Cutoff, ran a stop sign and drove into another yard. When the deputy blocked his path, the side-by-side  reportedly collided with the patrol unit.

Following the collision, 28-year-old Byron S. Meacham of the 200 block of Watson St. was taken into custody. He has been charged with a side-by-side on a roadway, aggravated flight and aggravated assault with a vehicle on an officer.

Meacham reportedly was booked into Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center. No bond has been set.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.