Resident chases vehicle from Lake Cove to Bunkie to recover stolen truck

One Evangeline Parish resident took matters into his own hands over the weekend in an attempt to recover a truck that was stolen from his brother.
Phillip Cavins, of Turkey Creek, received a call from his mother early Saturday morning at around 12:45 a.m. where she informed him that his brother’s truck had been stolen from a home in the Turkey Creek area.
Although his mother had reported the incident to the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office, Cavins decided he would drive around the area to see if he would come across the stolen vehicle.
When Cavins and family friend Sandy Powers spotted the truck in the Lake Cove area, they attempted to follow the vehicle.
“We noticed a truck that looked like my brother’s so we started to follow it,” said Cavins. “At one point, we saw his tail lights go around a curve, and then we didn’t see the vehicle again. They had to have been driving like 65 miles-per-hour.”
After a while, Cavins, who had called several other friends to assist in the search for his brother’s truck, said, “At about 2:00 a.m. everyone decided to go home except for me.”
Cavins then explained, “I backed up down a road in Lake Cove and turned my lights off. I wasn’t waiting there more than 15 minutes, and all of a sudden I saw my brother’s truck fly by on the Glenmora-Turkey Creek Highway.”
At that point, Cavins called the EPSO to inform them that he had located the stolen vehicle and that he was in pursuit of the truck.
As the chase ensued, Cavins said he remained on the phone with EPSO until the chase finally came to an end in Bunkie.
The pursuit ended up in Bunkie after the driver turned left off of the Glenmora-Turkey Creek Highway onto Onyx Rd. and then onto U.S. Hwy. 167.
“When we got onto U.S. Hwy. 167, we were headed toward Clearwater,” said Cavins. “Then the driver took a left on Jenkins Rd., drove about a mile before he made a u-turn and began driving toward me. I had to go into the ditch to dodge the vehicle because he was driving straight towards me.”
According to Cavins, he and the driver of the stolen vehicle eventually made it back onto U.S. Hwy. 167, until they reached U.S. Hwy. 71, where they turned right and headed towards Cheneyville.
Cavins said, “At one point he actually put the truck in reverse and started driving backwards in my direction.”
When they made it to Bunkie, Cavins said, “The chief of police was there waiting, so when we came through, the chief began chasing him as well and eventually the chief was able to pass him. The chief had to have hit close to 130 mph to pass the guy that had stolen my brother’s truck.”
According to Cavins, Bunkie Chief of Police Scotty Ferguson then started driving side to side and slowing down until the vehicles came to a stop.
Cavins said, “When we came to a stop, the chief got out of his unit, drew his weapon, and ordered the guy to get out of the truck, but he tried to drive around the chief. So, the chief jumped back in his car and again began driving side to side and slowing down until they were at a stop again.”
When the chief ordered the suspect out of the truck once again, the individual removed himself from the vehicle and attempted to flea. However, Chief Ferguson chased him and then tackled the suspect. Cavins at that point ran to assist in holding the guy down until two other Bunkie officers arrived on scene.
The driver of the stolen vehicle was identified as Preston Cason, 20, of Ville Platte. He was arrested and booked into the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center in Marksville on charges of resisting arrest by flight, careless operation of a vehicle, resisting a police officer with force/violence, simple battery, carjacking, aggravated assault and probation/prole violation.
Cason was also arrested on outstanding warrants from the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office for allegedly stealing and burning a truck on July 15 on Diddle Babb Camp Road in Glenmora.
In that case, a woman told investigators Cason picked up her and her child while he was driving the truck.
When she asked who owned the truck, Cason said he had taken it from a friend without permission. She told investigators that Cason burned the vehicle when it ran out of gas.