Hannibal man allegedly uses car to strike officer, patrol vehicle, then flees scene before arrest

HANNIBAL, Mo. — A Hannibal man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly striking a police officer and striking a patrol car with a car he was driving.

A warrant was issued Wednesday in the 10^th Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County charging Dexter L. Winningham, 37, with first-degree assault special victim, resisting arrest by fleeing and leaving the scene of an accident. The charges are a result of an investigation by a Hannibal Police Department officer assigned to the Anti-Crime Enforcement Squad regarding an outstanding felony warrant.

An officer observed Winningham parked at a business in the 3600 block of Stardust. The officer parked the patrol vehicle to partially block the parking stall and was outside the vehicle talking to the occupants, who had a door open. During the encounter, Winningham put the vehicle in gear and backed it up. The open door in the vehicle pushed the officer backward into the patrol vehicle.

A responding officer initiated a pursuit, and Winningham drove through a grass field and onto Stardust Drive near Munger Lane. Winningham’s vehicle continued on Stardust Drive to Veterans at a high rate of speed, then encountered a mechanical issue on Veterans Road near U.S. 36. Winningham exited the vehicle and surrendered to responding officers. 

The officer who first confronted Winningham was evaluated at a local hospital for injuries and later released. Winningham is being held in the Marion County Jail with no bond.