Man arrested after swimming 2 miles to avoid arrest

MAYES COUNTY, Okla. — The Mayes County Sheriff's Office arrested a man after he attempted to steal a patrol vehicle and swam two miles to avoid deputies on Sunday.

The sheriff's office said deputies received a call of a person walking in lanes of traffic on State Highway 412 near the Chouteau Creek Bridge around 11:00 a.m.

Deputies found Thomas Benjamin Meeker who had been screaming and causing disturbances among the traffic. Meeker had active warrants for his arrest through the Cherokee Nation.

Once deputies tried to take Meeker into custody on the warrants and public intoxication, he resisted and assaulted the deputies.

Meeker then attempted to steal the patrol vehicle, but was stopped.

Deputies said Meeker ran into Choteau Creek and swam away from law enforcement for over an hour. He swam around two miles south of Highway 412.

GRDA Police, Locust Grove Police, Choteau Police, Pryor Creek Police and Oklahoma Highway Patrol helped pursue Meeker. An arrest was eventually made using boats and non-lethal deployment tools, deputies said.

Meeker was arrested on the existing warrant, public intoxication, resisting arrest, felony assault, battery on an officer, felony escape from arrest and attempted larceny of a motor vehicle.