Out of prison less than a year, a suspect fled at high speed but crashed his car

A man driving a stolen car, who knew he was wanted on a warrant, fled from a Jasonville police officer. He was going fast, running stop signs, went airborne over railroad tracks, then finally lost control and rolled the car multiple times.  

A warrant was issued Tuesday, February 11, for the arrest of Eric Justin Dove, 39, following an investigation by Officer Andrew Duguay of the Jasonville Police Department.

Greene County court records list Dove with an address in Winslow, Ind., but court records in Knox and Vigo counties list him with an address in Vincennes.

The preliminary charges filed against Dove include:

• Theft where value of property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony,

• Counterfeiting, a Level 6 felony,

• Resisting law enforcement using a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony, and

• Reckless driving at unreasonable speed that endangers safety, a Class C misdemeanor.

At some point, it’s expected that Dove will be transported to Greene County to face charges but the warrant is currently outstanding because he’s in custody in the Vigo County Jail.

The case against Dove in Greene County came about as a result of an incident in the Jasonville area last Thursday, February 6.

Officer Duguay was on duty when he was dispatched to the area of East Neal and North Davis streets about a suspicious white car. When Duguay arrived, a white Chevrolet Impala was sitting at the intersection and two men and a woman were standing in a yard. Duguay knew one of the men and when he asked for identification from the other two people, Dove said he didn’t have any identification on him and said his name was Kyle Rickard which turned out to be a fake name.

Officer Duguay set about the business of running a records check on all three individuals and the Rickard man, later identified as Eric Dove, got into the white Impala and took off.

Officer Duguay reported in trying to get away, Dove drove through a ditch and bottomed out the car on the roadway, then drove west on Neal then north on Harrison. Officer Duguay headed to the intersection of Davis and Lincoln where he saw Dove northbound on Harrison at an extremely high rate of speed.

The chase was on. Duguay hit the lights and siren attempting to make a traffic stop but Dove accelerated northbound. When Dove turned west on Walnut, the Impala left the roadway due to speed, then returned to the road and continued west, accelerating to 65 mph. He failed to stop at Harrison and Park intersection.

Dove then failed to stop at the railroad crossing on Walnut Street and Officer Duguay reported Dove hit the tracks at approximately 70 mph, went airborne and landed about 90 feet farther away from the tracks, narrowly missing a vehicle traveling east on Walnut. After landing, Dove left the roadway on the north side and lost control, then regained control and continued west on Walnut.

Dove failed to stop at Walnut and Fry, turned north on Fry which turned into County Road 550 West in Clay County. Dove failed to stop at the railroad crossing on CR 550, again went airborne, landed and continued on at an approximate speed of 70 mph. Dove failed to stop at the intersection with CR 1350 South and turned east on CR 1350 South.

Once on CR 1350 South, Officer Duguay said speed reached in excess of 80 mph but while going through a set of curves on CR 1350 South, Dove lost control of the vehicle and left the north side of the road. The Impala rolled multiple times and came to rest on the driver’s side in a muddy ditch.

Officer Duguay requested fire and ambulance rescue personnel then approached the vehicle and could hear Dove moaning in pain and yelling for help. Officer Duguay said Dove was laying with one arm outside the vehicle with the arm pinned under the vehicle in mud. He was bleeding from his head and ears.

JPD Chief Ryan Van Horn arrived on scene next and busted the passenger window out so they could communicate easier with Dove. At that point, Dove allegedly said his name was really Eric Dove and he had pain in his neck and back. He said he fled because he was wanted for counterfeiting checks. Due to his injuries, Officer Duguay made a decision to wait for rescue personnel to arrive to extricate Dove.

Officer Debbie McDonald of the Linton Police Department also arrived to assist and while waiting for extrication, Dove allegedly told Officer McDonald that he had spent the last 12 years in prison and that cashing fraudulent checks was his “thing.” There was a printer in the passenger side of the vehicle. Dove allegedly said he used it to print checks. He also allegedly admitted that he stole the Impala but he couldn’t remember what town he stole it in. Officer Duguay said the license plate on the Impala belonged to a white Dodge Avenger.

After extrication, Dove was transported by STAR Ambulance to Regional Hospital in Terre Haute. No additional information regarding his injuries is available but at some point since the crash, he wound up in Vigo County Jail.

Officer Duguay reported that in the Impala, officers located numerous personal “checks” with more than one fictitious name, and a couple of business “checks” from more than one fictitious business. These checks had the same routing number but different account numbers. In a backpack in the trunk, they located a box of Versa Check security business check refills that were blank, along with numerous misprinted checks with different names and different addresses.

The Impala was found to have been stolen in Vigo County.

Court records show Dove has been charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, in Vigo County. In that case, he’s currently being held on a bond of $10,000 cash only, no ten percent allowed.

There’s another warrant out for Dove’s arrest in Knox County, issued on Tuesday, February 4, two days before the crash, for two counts of felony counterfeiting.

What Dove said about spending 12 years in prison appears to be true. He was released on April 27, 2019, and his record from the Department of Corrections shows he has served sentences in DOC for convictions from Hancock and Madison counties for two counts of auto theft-receiving stolen auto parts, two counts of forgery and counterfeiting, three counts of theft-receiving stolen property, and trafficking with an inmate.