No less than seven officers joined the hunt for a blue Chrysler sedan in the early hours of January 3, 2024, after the driver, who appeared to be intoxicated, threatened a Circle K store clerk and two customers.
Law enforcement were on the lookout for the suspect at approximately 1:00 am, when a state trooper radioed that he saw a vehicle that matched the description in the area of 3rd Avenue and 11th Street in Safford. The trooper reported that the car was driving erratically when it pulled into a residence. As other officers arrived the trooper said the driver of the vehicle tried to leave, but pulled back into the residence when he saw the trooper’s vehicle.
While law enforcement was gathering at the scene, a woman came out of a residence and started yelling in Spanish. The trooper translated for the woman, who said that she and her 4-year-old daughter were sleeping in their residence when her boyfriend kicked in the back door and came in yelling that the police were after him.
Officers went to the back of the house and found the blue Chrysler with an open container of alcohol inside. The back door of the house was off its hinges and laying on the floor inside the house. Two officers searched the house but didn’t find anyone inside.
The suspect was found hiding in the bushes next to a trailer and was taken into custody. When asked what happened that night the man began referring to an incident several weeks earlier. When asked, the man admitted that he kicked down the door to the house. He was unsure if he had a key to the residence. He was booked into the Graham County Jail for Domestic Violence and Disorderly Conduct.
