KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A Knoxville man with a history of stealing vehicles and trying to run when officers chase him faces new charges that accuse him of ramming a deputy's vehicle during a "low speed" pursuit.
Austin N. Lynn, 21, was being held in Knox County custody on numerous warrants including felony theft of property, aggravated assault and evading arrest.
Authorities arrested him Saturday night after he tried to get away in the Walker Springs area.
Lynn was spotted about 10:30 p.m. around Bridgewater Road driving a stolen Chevy 1500, warrants state. An officer gave chase on Ten Mile Road.
The Chevy rammed one officer's patrol car and tried to hit two others, warrants state.
The chase went through the Walker Springs Apartments complex where the Chevy crashed into parked cars and damaged several fences.
Lynn hit a KUB pole and then a tree on Fox Lonas Road, where the vehicle stopped. He resisted arrest as officers took him into custody, warrants state.
He suffered scrapes and abrasions on his face and was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Lynn is charged with stealing a $30,000 Kia on Nov. 13 from a store on Oak Ridge Highway.
Four days before that, warrants state, he tried to run from authorities while driving a stolen 2015 Red Hyundai. He tried to run from deputies and crashed in the 6200 block of Rutledge Pike
"Mr. Austin Lynn (arrestee) exited the vehicle and began to flee on foot into Rutledge Pike," a warrant states. "Officer Monroe fired his county-issued Taser, which was ineffective. When officers gave loud clear commands, Mr. Lynn turned his head to look behind him and struck a police vehicle with his body, causing a large dent in the front quarter panel of a Knox County cruiser, causing approximately $500 worth of damage."
Once deputies got him on the ground, he tried to kick one as well, warrants state.
The Hyundai had been stolen from a house on Hutchinson Avenue. Inside the car was a credit card that deputies say Lynn used to make various purchases at a Speedway, Shell and Exxon.
Lynn also previously has been charged with stealing a black 2008 Infiniti in 2018, and he's faced 2017 charges involving the theft of a box truck and a Chevy Equinox.