150-mile chase starts with theft and ends with suspect at gunpoint, Nebraska cops say
An early-morning theft in Nebraska turned into a chase that spanned six northeastern counties and 150 miles after the suspect fled authorities, deputies said.
The Stanton County Sheriff’s Office said the pursuit began with a theft in the city of O’Neill, about a 190 mile-drive northwest of Omaha, at 2 a.m. Feb. 10. The sheriff’s office got involved at about 4 a.m., after the man had fled through three counties and shaken his pursuers multiple times, deputies said in a news release.
Tyler Kocian, 28, was charged with operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, assault on a police officer, use of a weapon to commit a felony, among other charges across multiple counties, according to the sheriff’s office. During the pursuit, Kocian called Norfolk police, said he wouldn’t stop and threatened law enforcement, deputies said.
The driver was spotted again in Norfolk but drove through residential yards to avoid law enforcement, deputies said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies that responded tried to spike Kocian’s tires several times, the sheriff’s office said. At about 4 a.m., Kocian fled east on a highway, rammed into a deputy’s patrol vehicle and sent it spinning, deputies said.
After the collision, deputies said they tried to spike Kocian’s tires again. He kept driving east into a neighboring county and into West Point city limits, where law enforcement successfully spiked his tires, deflating a front one, the sheriff’s office said.
A semi driver then nearly brought the pursuit to an early end, deputies said. The semi driver attempted to block off a highway overpass with his vehicle, but Kocian squeezed by and continued east into the next county, according to the sheriff’s office.
The vehicle lost a second tire, then turned south and entered another county, where Kocian finally stopped in a residential neighborhood and was arrested at gunpoint, deputies said. He was booked into the Washington County Jail after the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office took him into custody.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM with the headline "150-mile chase starts with theft and ends with suspect at gunpoint, Nebraska cops say."
