Timothy Gorko

A man accused of holding another man at gunpoint during a high-speed police chase in Cherokee County was arrested Monday.

Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson said deputies responded to an aggravated assault call in the area of County Road 2206 and were then told Timothy Gorko was leaving in a vehicle from the neighbor’s property.

Deputies tried to stop the vehicle and while in pursuit got a 911 call from inside the vehicle. The caller said Gorko was holding him at gunpoint and would not allow him to stop the vehicle, police said.

The chase began in Rusk and Gorko started traveling south on U.S. 69. Police said Gorko called 911 several times making demands and threatening the other person in the car.

Texas Highway Patrol and Angelina County Sheriff’s Office, at the request of Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, used tire deflation devices to stop the vehicle near Central in Angelina County. Officers said Gorko was pointing a handgun at the hostage.

After multiple demands to put down the gun, Gorko refused to comply and Lufkin police officers shot Gorko several times. He was removed from the vehicle and the hostage was found unharmed, the sheriff’s office said.

Gorko was given first aid, taken to a Lufkin hospital and then released into the custody of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

He faces charges of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault, manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and evading arrest with a vehicle.