KEARNEY — A Kearney man wanted on outstanding warrants was arrested early Tuesday after police say a license plate reader flagged his vehicle, and officers later used a drone to locate him after he fled a traffic stop.
Phillip Rivera, 35, is charged in Buffalo County Court with felony operating a vehicle to avoid arrest and third-offense driving under revocation, a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Rivera was arraigned on June 16, and his bond was set at $2,500. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on July 8.
According to court records, a Kearney Police Department officer received a Flock camera alert at 2:09 a.m. June 16, indicating that a black Honda Accord registered to Rivera was near Interstate 80 and Second Avenue. Records state Rivera had two active warrants in Buffalo County.
The officer later spotted the Honda at Casey’s on Talmadge Street. Police say the vehicle left the business and headed north on Central Avenue, where the officer followed and observed the vehicle making several quick turns, failing to signal, and traveling at a high rate of speed through residential neighborhoods.
When the officer activated emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, the Honda allegedly continued at a high rate of speed. Police ended the pursuit but later found the vehicle at Nutrien Ag Solutions on 16th Avenue.
Officers continued searching for Rivera and eventually located him by drone in the 1100 block of West 19th Street. Court records say Rivera was sweating heavily when officers found him, and the keys to the vehicle were in his possession.
Rivera was taken into custody and booked into the Buffalo County Jail.
