Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Rickey Wilson was booked into jail on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer.
The driver is still sought by police
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A man was jailed Saturday for assaulting an officer after being mistaken for a man wanted for fleeing from a pursuit. The driver in the pursuit is still wanted.
Rickey Shane Wilson, 41, was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer after allegedly kicking an officer during an interaction at a residence on Chastain Lane.
Police believe the driver in their pursuit was Micah John Boivin, 40, of Safford. He is currently sought by the Safford Police Department on possible charges of excessive speed, reckless driving, unlawful flight from pursuing law enforcement, driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest, and criminal damage.
According to Safford Police reports, an officer was assisting a Graham County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Saturday, March 19, with a traffic offense at the intersection of Chastain Lane and U.S. Highway 191 when the offending vehicle fled. According to the officer, a 2017 Ford Escape occupied by a single, white male subject, had rolled through the stop sign at about 8:20 p.m. and then failed to yield for a traffic stop. The Ford is registered to Micah John Boivin.
The Safford officer pursued the Ford as it raced at nearly three times the speed limit on Highway 366 (Swift Trail). The Ford Escape then turned onto various dirt roads before eventually traveling north on Stockton Road.
The Safford officer reported not being able to safely follow the Ford within sight due to the amount of dust it expelled into the air. After the officer lost full sight of the Ford Escape, he terminated the pursuit.
At that time, a deputy informed that the Ford had been spotted again going more than 100 mph and had driven through a barbed-wire fence. The pursuit then included Cholla Drive and back onto U.S. Highway 191. A deputy then followed the Ford as it again exceeded speeds of 100 mph while southbound on U.S. Highway 191. The Ford then turned east onto Artesia Road, which is a dirt road, and the deputy soon had the same problem keeping safe while following among a thick dust layer. After losing sight, the pursuit was terminated.
At that time, deputies went to a residence on Chastain Lane to look for a possible driver. The Safford officer joined and soon the police were seeking to speak to a man (identified as Wilson) who deputies suspected to be the driver of the Ford Escape.
The Safford officer reported that Wilson became hostile when they were talking to him and resisted being handcuffed for the officers’ safety during interrogation. At that time, other people at the residence came to Wilson’s defense, and one advised that the driver the police were looking for was Micah Boivin.
Wilson allegedly yelled at the respondent to “shut the (expletive deleted) up” and then later reportedly kicked back with his left foot, striking the officer’s left shin, as he was being escorted away. The officer then took Wilson to the ground and arrested him for aggravated assault. After being medically cleared by paramedics, he was booked into jail.
Deputies then obtained surveillance footage of Micah Boivin getting into his Ford Escape wearing the same clothing as the driver in the pursuit as noted by the officers. While officers report they have probable cause to arrest Micah Boivin, contact with him has yet to be made, as of this report.
