Elk City, OK — A high-speed police chase through Elk City ended in an arrest just after 2 a.m. Sunday, April 8, 2025, after a suspect refused to stop for officers and endangered multiple drivers along the way.
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Elk City Police Department, officers responded to a report of a stolen white 2019 Chevy Equinox with Oklahoma license plate RJL956 around 11:50 p.m. Saturday night. Officers located a vehicle matching that description on Main Street just before midnight and attempted a traffic stop. The driver did not comply, leading police on a chase through multiple intersections at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
The vehicle ran several stop signs and swerved across lanes as it fled westbound on Country Club Blvd and into residential areas. Officers reported that the driver was swerving aggressively toward patrol vehicles and refused to stop even after multiple visual and audible signals.
After police executed a Tactical Vehicle Intervention (TVI) near Country Club and Pioneer, the suspect—later identified as 36-year-old Bobby Matthew Blanchard of Elk City—barricaded himself inside the vehicle for over an hour. He was eventually taken into custody at approximately 2:22 a.m.
Blanchard was transported to the hospital by EMS for evaluation but refused medical treatment. He was later booked into the Beckham County Jail on felony charges of eluding law enforcement and multiple traffic violations. According to authorities, Blanchard has a history of arrests involving multiple assaults, stolen vehicles, and weapons charges.
In addition to the eluding charge, Blanchard was also issued a warning for an obscured license plate.
