Florida men formally charged following high-speed pursuit

Two Florida men who tried to flee Sequoyah County sheriff’s deputies and Sallisaw police last Saturday during the annual Diamond Daze festival have been formally charged in Sequoyah County District Court.

Carlton Rucker, 37, of Plantation, is charged with two counts of battery, assault and battery on a police officer, causing great bodily injury while eluding/attempting to elude police officer, transporting stolen property into state, possession of burglary tools, possession of controlled dangerous substance (marijuana), and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Walker

A passenger in Rucker’s vehicle, Courtney Walker, 35, of Dania Beach, is charged with transporting stolen property into state, possession of burglary tools, possession of controlled dangerous substance (marijuana) and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both men were charged May 10 and are now set for 9 a.m. May 24 felony disposition docket before Associate District Judge Kyle Waters.

A third person in the vehicle, Shawn Hyman, 34, also of Florida, has yet to be charged, according to court records.

The three men were traveling in a 2020 Hyundai northbound on Oak Street and just south of Creek Avenue around 1:21 p.m. Saturday when Sallisaw Police Capt. John Weber made the decision to stop them by positioning his police unit into the path of the Hyundai, causing it to strike him and his passenger, Officer Wesley McGuire, ending the pursuit.

Rucker and Walker were reportedly uninjured but Hyman was transported by First Flight to St. John’s Hospital in Tulsa where he was admitted in stable condition with leg injuries.

Weber suffered a broken wrist in the crash, while McGuirt suffered cuts and bruises.