Missouri: Suspect in custody after allegedly striking deputy with car, leading police on pursuit

Donald Hornsey, 48, was inside a vehicle that was pulled over for a traffic stop on Highway 67 near Highway Y, just north of the St. Francois State Park in Desloge, around 9:40 a.m. Two other people were with the suspect when Officer Paul Clark conducted the stop, police said.

After being pulled over, Hornsey allegedly jumped into a pickup truck he did not own and intentionally struck Clark. "[The deputy] was down in the brush off the roadway several feet and managed to stop the other two people from leaving," said St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock.

According to police, shots were fired during the incident. It is unknown if the suspect was hit. After striking the trooper with the vehicle, the suspect lead police on a vehicle pursuit into a wooded area that had a one-lane gravel road just south of De Soto, according to authorities. Several agencies joined in the search and a K-9 Unit was dispatched to help find Hornsey.

Around 7 p.m., police said they called off their search in the wooded area due to the rain. "The dog wasn't doing very well with the wet weather," said Bullock. "They've decided to go off that foot search and go other directions."

Hornsey was taken into custody without incident after being located between 11 p.m. and midnight inside a residence in Jefferson County, police said.

Hornsey, police said, was also wanted by federal authorities for a probation violation after a meth conviction.

Officer Clark was taken to a St. Louis hospital and listed in stable condition.