Safford police are looking for a suspect who fled from authorities last Wednesday night. A Safford officer on patrol at approximaely 11:55 pm, passed a vehicle with a headlight out on Highway 70 in Safford. The officer turned around to pull the vehicle over but the vehicle sped up and pulled into a parking space on the east side of Circle K at 11th Avenue.
The officer turned on his emergency lights and began to pull in behind the vehicle. The vehicle began to back up toward the officer a few times, then made a slow turn and drove around the officer’s vehicle. The officer pulled behind the vehicle as it traveled south on 11th Avenue. When the car came to a stop sign, it tried backing up again. The officer used his siren and the vehicle sped off at a high rate of speed.
The officer lost sight of the vehicle as it drove at a high rate of speed and drove through a red light at the intersection of 8th Avenue and Highway 70. A DPS trooper observed the vehicle and pursued it into the Calle Montecito area before losing sight of it. A short time later the vehicle was found parked in front of a residence.
The vehicle was locked but the driver’s-side window was partially down. There was a dog in the backseat. The driver could not be located. Authorities could see a tooter drug straw laying in the front seat. Authorities searched the vehicle and found numerous identification cards for the suspected driver in the center console.
An officer contacted the registered owner of the vehicle by telephone who said that he had let his grandson borrow the car a few days earlier. He said that he did not know where his grandson was but said that the dog in the backseat belonged to his grandson. The vehicle’s owner took possession of the car and the dog.
The driver of the vehicle is facing possible charges of Felony Flight, Reckless Driving and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The case is pending contact with the driver.
