NEWTON, NC (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Catawba deputies say they attempted to initiate a traffic stop near Highway 127 South and Old Farm Drive for a car with a fake license plate, but the vehicle did not stop .
This happened on March 29, 2023. After driving away, deputies say the car crashed into a utility pole a few blocks away at the intersection of Old Farm Drive and Valley Field Road. The driver then tried to run on foot but was caught.
Investigators say the driver gave a false name but was identified as Paul Ikard Jr., 52, a wanted sex offender who was convicted of indecent liberties with a child in 2003 and second-degree rape in 2007.
In a statement, deputies wrote that Ikard had outstanding warrants for his arrest for failure to register as a sex offender, failure to notify law enforcement of a change of address, tampering with an electronic monitoring device and a violation of parole.
After the chase, Ikard has also been charged with felony flight to elude arrest, identity theft, reckless driving and resisting a public officer, deputies say. Ikard is being held on a $10,000 secured bond on the charge of interfering with an electronic monitoring device and no bond on the other charges.
“By pursuing and apprehending this fugitive suspect, our deputies removed a very dangerous criminal from our communities,” says Sherrif Brown. “I am very proud of his work. We strictly enforce sex offender laws here in Catawba County.”
