Local police officers and an investigator have been recognized by the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for apprehending one of Oklahoma’s top 10 fugitives in Whitney in October.
Whitney authorities became involved in the case on October 22, after the police department was notified that a wanted subject, 59-year-old Melvin Joe Stevenson, had made several transactions at stores in the Whitney city limits.
Chief Kyle Nevil, Sergeant Joshua Scholes, Officer Zach Brown and District Attorney Investigator Coy West located Stevenson’s vehicle leaving a residence and initiated a traffic stop.
Stevenson fled from the officers, first by vehicle and later on foot when he turned down a dead-end street.
The subject was located hiding in a ditch, apprehended and booked into the Hill County Jail on a felony drug trafficking warrant from the Oklahoma OAG.
The Oklahoma OAG sent certificates of appreciation and challenge coins to Nevil, Scholes, Brown and West on December 11, thanking them for selflessly using their resources and time to assist in apprehending the fugitive.
Whitney Mayor Janice Sanders recognized their efforts during a Whitney City Council meeting held Thursday evening, December 19.
The Lakelander 