2 wanted men arrested after pursuit in Bonneville County

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputies apprehended two wanted men after a pursuit that lead to the Bone area early Saturday morning. 

24-year-old Augustus W. Gokey and 33-year-old Kasey C. Wornek were in a pickup truck driven by Gokey when a Deputy located them on Wright Rd. just North of Idaho Falls around 1:45 am. 

Gokey was wanted for an outstanding felony warrant related to previous drug charges and earlier in the day (Friday) had fled from Deputies on 3 different occasions near 5^th W. and 33^rd. N., Cobblestone and Stonebrook Ln., and again on Wright Rd.  Deputies did not continue pursuit of Gokey at that time because of his reckless driving behavior in those areas.  After Gokey had fled earlier in the day, Deputies made contact with his father in an attempt to have him call and turn himself in but Gokey indicated he was in possession of Methamphetamine and possibly a gun and was not going back to jail. 

When Gokey’s vehicle was located on Wright Rd. early Saturday morning, the Deputy pulled to the front of the pickup in an attempt to pin the vehicle between a fence and prevent him from fleeing.  Gokey then backed up and sped forward toward the driver area of the patrol car ramming the front end near where the Deputy had been standing and drove away toward Iona Rd. 

Deputies arriving to the area got behind Gokey who continued to flee in the pickup eastbound on Iona Rd., at one point running a stop sign and turning on 15th E. and almost striking another patrol car before getting back to Iona Rd. and continuing East.  A Deputy was able to deploy spike strips near the intersection of Iona Rd. and Ammon Rd. effectively disabling the passenger side tires of the pickup, however, Gokey continued to flee reaching speeds of more than 70 MPH with deflating tires that were breaking apart. 

Gokey continued through the City of Iona and onto the Bone Rd. with Deputies behind.  Just prior to the Bone Store, Deputies backed away from Gokey’s vehicle as he was having trouble maintaining control with high speeds, and at least 2 tires were now destroyed.  As Gokey’s attempted to negotiate a turn in the road, he lost control of the pickup and overturned. 

Gokey surrendered to Deputies at that time, who treated him for injuries from the crash until Idaho Falls Fire arrived.  Deputies also made contact with a passenger in the vehicle, identifying him as Kasey Wornek, and worked to stabilize him until he could safely be removed from the pickup.  During this time a small fire started in the front and rear of the pickup that Deputies were able to keep contained until fire personnel arrived and made it safe to remove Wornek from the vehicle.  Deputies located just over 2 grams of Marijuana inside the vehicle before it was towed from the scene.  Troopers from the Idaho State Police who had responded to the area of the pursuit, assisted with investigating the crash portion of the scene. 

Both Gokey and Wornek were transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for treatment but later released to Deputies for transport to the Bonneville County Jail.  As Gokey was being placed in a patrol car, Deputies seized a small canister containing just over 2 grams of Methamphetamine that was found on his person. 

Upon arriving at the jail, Gokey was booked on the outstanding Felony Warrant along with new Felony charges for Possession of Methamphetamine, Aggravated Battery, and Eluding.  Gokey was also booked for Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana and Resisting Arrest with further potential charges relating to Driving Under the Influence and the three previous Eluding events pending from the day before.  Wornek was transported to the  Jail and booked on Felony and Misdemeanor Warrants out of Bonneville County, in addition to an outstanding warrant from a neighboring jurisdiction.