Local police catch man wanted for threatening KY Congressman

Kentucky State Police apprehended a Lexington man wanted by the FBI Monday following a low-speed chase that began on I-75 just north of Corbin and ended in Rockcastle County.

According to Trooper Lloyd Cochran, public affairs officer at Post 11 in London, FBI agents contacted Post 11 about 9 a.m. advising that 40-year-old Russell Little was travelling north on I-75 in Laurel County in a 1998 Pontiac Firebird.

Little was wanted in Madison County for allegedly making threatening phone calls to Congressman Andy Barr, R-Ky.

Barr’s congressional district is centered around Lexington.

Troopers made contact with the vehicle near the 33-mile marker and attempted to stop him.

Cochran said Little refused to stop and the pursuit continued for more than 30 miles.

“It was not a high-speed chase by interstate standards,” Cochran said, noting speeds did not exceed 50 mph.

Troopers blocked traffic behind Little, keeping traffic at bay. As the pursuit reached the 66-mile marker, Cochran said troopers used a pursuit intervention technique to force the vehicle off the roadway.

The Firebird came to rest along the median cable barrier and Little was taken into custody without further incident. “He had a firearm in the vehicle but he never tried to use it,” Cochran said of Little.

Cochran said the charges in the warrant include terroristic threatening and harassing communications.

In addition, Little is facing charges of first-degree fleeing or evading police and reckless driving in Laurel County.

Little is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges at 9 a.m. today in Laurel District Court.

Little is being held without bond in the Laurel County Detention Center.

State police were assisted by Kentucky State Police – Division of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, London Police and Mount Vernon Police.