Man In Jail After Nearly Striking Police Officer With Vehicle

A man is in jail after leading Newport Police on a high speed chase along numerous city streets and nearly hitting a police officer. It began with Officer Justin Shelton spotting a vehicle driving across a yard on Mountain View St. then swerving back onto the roadway. The vehicle, a Dodge Intrepid, then led officer Shelton on a chase down Filbert and eventually all of the numbered streets. The driver pulled over on 7^th Street, but then put his vehicle in reverse and nearly struck the patrol car before taking off again.

The pursuit finally wound up on Irish Cut Road, where the driver of the Intrepid swerved into a field and made a U turn. By then Sgt. Michael Robey, who had joined the pursuit, was standing outside his patrol vehicle when the driver lowered his head and accelerated at SGT. Robey. Robey had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck and the driver of the Intrepid then side swiped Robey’s patrol car.

The driver, then abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot. Officer Shelton was able to catch the suspect and identified him as 37 year old Michael Barth. He admitted that he fled due to him being “high” on both meth and heroin and having a warrant out of Ohio. Barth also told Officer Shelton that he initiated the pursuit because he wanted law enforcement to “kill him”. Barth now faces numerous charges including Aggravated Assault, Reckless Driving and Evading Arrest.