Docs: Man denied drinking before crashing stolen vehicle during Anderson chase, hiding in trash can

ANDERSON, Ind. – A Muncie man hid in a trash can after crashing a stolen car in Anderson last week, police say.

The Madison County Prosecutor’s Office charged 21-year-old Arthur Frierson IV with felony count of resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement and operating a vehicle while intoxicated in connection with the June 28 incident.

A Madison County sheriff’s deputy was on patrol near State Road 32 and Scatterfield Road when he received a camera notification that a stolen Honda CR-V had been spotted nearby. The deputy waited for an Anderson police officer to arrive before initiating a traffic stop.

The driver, later identified as Frierson, turned around and sped off, according to court documents, hitting a “high rate of speed” as he headed west on E. 5^th Street and then turned south on College Drive.

The driver then swerved to the right before taking a left on E. 10^th Street, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph. The CR-V swerved past a pair of cars and then drove down the middle of the road as it approached the Scatterfield Road intersection.

The Honda proceeded through the intersection despite having a red light and crossed into the southbound lane; another vehicle broadsided the CR-V, flipping it over.

Frierson crawled out of the vehicle, according to court documents, and jumped over a chain link fence and a privacy fence. The deputy met up with an Anderson officer and his K9 partner to search for Frierson. They were unable to immediately locate him.

Other officers soon arrived, and witnesses helped point them toward a trash can near E. 6^th Street and Moravian Street, where they found Frierson hiding.

A search of the crashed vehicle turned up containers of alcohol, according to court documents, along with firearms, at least one of which had been reported stolen. Three passengers in the CR-V were taken to an area hospital with various injuries, as was the driver of the vehicle that hit the CR-V.

Frierson denied he had been drinking, even though investigators noted he smelled of an alcoholic beverage, his eyes appeared “watery and bloodshot” and his speech was slow.

He denied knowing the vehicle was stolen, although he “knew something was up with the vehicle but he couldn’t put his finger on it,” according to court documents. He also claimed he didn’t know anything about the guns found in the car.

He maintained neither he nor anyone else in the vehicle had been drinking, despite the fact police found multiple open containers of alcoholic beverages in the CR-V, according to court documents. Records showed Frierson had never received a driver’s license.

According to court records, Frierson had his initial hearing on June 30.