LeLOUP – A 41-year-old Lansing man was booked into the Franklin County jail in connection with an early morning chase today in northern Franklin County. Richard Crook, Jr., was booked on suspicion of the theft of a motor vehicle, the Franklin County Sheriff’s office said. Bond was set at $2,500. The sheriff’s office didn’t say how Crook was captured but that he was arrested in the 2000 block of Stafford Road near Centropolis northwest of Ottawa. Law officers have been searching for second man in connection with the chase. During the chase, a four-wheel-drive pickup believed to be stolen was abandoned in a field near Tauy Creek near Shawnee and Montana roads. Officers followed tracks in the snow from the truck as they pursued the second man, who remains at large. The sheriff’s department broadcast an alert to other law enforcement agencies for the man. During the chase a second pickup was stolen.
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6 a.m.; updated, 10:30 a.m.
