Man driving SUV connected to shooting charged with resisting arrest after chase

An Independence man who led police on a high-speed chase Thursday in a vehicle police believe is connected with an earlier shooting has been charged with felony resisting arrest, the Jackson County prosecutor announced.

In court documents released by Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker on Friday, police said Steven S. Dowland, 32, told them he was driving the Chevrolet SUV that was involved in the police chase that began about 8:42 p.m. Thursday in Independence and ended about 20 minutes later in Kansas City.

Undercover police originally followed the SUV and its two occupants from a pawn shop on U.S. Highway 40. Patrol officers then attempted to stop the SUV at Winner Road and Belmont in Kansas City for expired license plates and not having its headlights on, the documents said.

Police said that when the driver would not stop, officers pursued briefly and then ended the pursuit. They resumed the pursuit after learning from police dispatchers that the SUV may have been connected with an Independence shooting.

With police — including a helicopter crew — chasing, the SUV traveled at speeds exceeding 90 mph. At one point it went the wrong way on Interstate 70. Police said the SUV was also involved in a crash during the chase.

Police said the chase ended near 21st and Holly streets where the passenger in the SUV was arrested. The driver ran from the vehicle, the document said.

About 30 minutes later, police found Dowland hiding under a house deck in the 2300 block of Jarboe Street, where he was arrested.

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 9:18 PM with the headline "Man driving SUV connected to shooting charged with resisting arrest after chase."