Texas Man Gets 45 Years After 120-Mph Chase Spanned 30 Miles From Montgomery County

CONROE, Texas – A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after a Montgomery County jury convicted him of fleeing police during a 30-mile pursuit that reached speeds of about 120 mph.

Anthony Reynard Haynes Jr. was found guilty Aug. 26 of evading arrest or detention with a motor vehicle following a trial in the 9th District Court of Montgomery County.

The jury also found that Haynes used his vehicle as a deadly weapon during the pursuit. Judge Phil Grant sentenced Haynes to 45 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Prosecutors tried Haynes as a habitual offender.

The case stemmed from a Nov. 8, 2022, vehicle burglary at Memorial Hermann Hospital in The Woodlands.

Shenandoah police responded after Haynes and two other men were reported to 911 for stealing work tools from a truck, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

A short time later, a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted Haynes’ vehicle in another parking garage in The Woodlands and attempted a felony traffic stop.

Haynes fled.

A Shenandoah police officer pursued the vehicle into Harris County. During the approximately 30-mile chase, Haynes reached speeds of about 120 mph before crashing, prosecutors said.

Haynes and two passengers then ran from the vehicle.

A Harris County Precinct 4 Constable K-9 deputy and the Texas Department of Public Safety’s helicopter unit joined the search. Haynes was eventually found hiding in a wooded area and taken into custody. The other two occupants were also arrested.

Investigators searching Haynes’ vehicle recovered the victim’s stolen tools as well as several stolen catalytic converters belonging to unidentified victims, according to prosecutors.

Haynes was already facing two other felony charges, one in Walker County and another in Harris County, when the 2022 pursuit occurred.

Authorities said Haynes fled from law enforcement in a vehicle again when officers later attempted to arrest him on the Montgomery County warrant. That incident resulted in another felony charge of evading arrest or detention with a motor vehicle.

By the time the Montgomery County case went to trial, Haynes had four pending felony cases across three jurisdictions, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

District Attorney Michael Holley said the speed and circumstances of the pursuit justified treating the vehicle as a deadly weapon.

“A vehicle traveling 120 miles per hour to escape law enforcement is a deadly weapon, and this jury recognized it for exactly what it was,” Holley said.

Assistant district attorneys Victoria Powell and Katherine Wiethorn prosecuted the case.

“For 30 miles, this defendant treated public roadways like his personal escape route, reaching speeds of 120 miles per hour and endangering every officer, driver, and family in his path,” Powell said. “This 45-year sentence makes clear those choices have consequences.”