A man was arrested on Sunday evening, March 10, in LaGrange County after evading a traffic stop.

It all started at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday evening when deputies with the LaGrange County Sheriff’s Department tried to conduct a traffic stop on County Road 1150 E.  The man accelerated and led officers on a chase where the man drove through a yard on S 1145 E and came to a stop.

50-year-old Steven Ritchie was arrested for operating a motor vehicle without ever receiving a driver’s license. After being transported to the LaGrange County Jail, officers found multiple plastic baggies on Ritchie containing suspected methamphetamine and one bag with suspected marijuana.  Ritchie then became violent with detectives when questioned about the bags resulting in the use of a taser.

Ritchie refused medical treatment and a jail officer was treated and released from Parkview LaGrange Hospital.  He is being charged with resisting law enforcement, resisting with a motor vehicle and battery to law enforcement.