Two facing charges following high speed chase in Pulaski County

PULASKI COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - What started as a routine traffic stop quickly turned into a police chase at speeds of more than 100 mph at times.

On Wednesday night, detectives with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office were working to identify suspicious vehicles that could be involved in drug trafficking activities in the southern portion of the county.

Police spotted a pickup truck and ran the plates, finding out the insurance on the Ford F150 could not be verified.

During a traffic stop at the intersection of Highways 914 and 1247, the driver, Gary Voiles, 61, of London, gave the deputy an expired insurance card. Soon after, another deputy arrived with his police dog.

Detectives asked if they could search the truck and when they did, the dog alerted, telling the deputies on scene that there were drugs in the vehicle.

Police were able to get Voiles out of the car, but the passenger, John Carico, 55, of Cambridge City, Indiana, had his door locked and slid across into the driver’s seat and took off, hitting the K-9 handler and nearly striking Voiles.

Police chased after Carico on Highway 914 and onto Highway 80. The pursuit ended up going on to the construction zone on Highway 461 before backtracking onto Highway 80 near Somerset where Somerset police officers were waiting with stop sticks and ended up popping the driver’s side front tire. Carico stopped the car a short time later before being ordered from the vehicle and taken into custody without further incident.

Other officers begin searching the route the pursuit went and found a bag about 50 yards from the site of the original traffic stop. Inside that bag, they found more than 740 grams of meth, cocaine and the prescription drug Gabapentin they believe Carico threw out of the truck when he took off.

John Carico is charged with speeding, fleeing or evading police, assaulting a police officer, driving on a suspended license, several trafficking in controlled substance charges, wanton endangerment and reckless driving.

Gary Voiles is charged with several charges of trafficking in a controlled substance along with failure to maintain insurance.

Both were taken to the Pulaski County Detention Center.