Police Draw Long Guns, Man Apprehended

A man with multiple felony warrants was arrested and taken into custody Wednesday evening by San Angelo Police, following a brief car and foot chase that ended at a residence in the 1200 block of Bryant, near the Cross Keys apartment complex. 

Officer Spearman of the San Angelo Police Department explained that the male suspect initially caught his attention for speeding, however refused to pull over when he initiated his lights and then gave way to chase. 

"He was running northbound, 52 (mph) in a 40 (speed zone) in the 1100 block of S. Koenigheim," Spearman said. "I activated my emergency equipment...lights just first, and he turned onto Washington, proceeded westbound. I could tell he was running, so I activated my [sirens]." 

The chase proceeded southbound down Bryant and took several turns around Koenigheim and Abe, which drew the officer's attention and he prepared for flight.

"He was obviously circling this area, so I figured he knew someone or lived in here," Spearman said. 

Spearman said the suspect then blew through several stop signs in Santa Rita, cutting through traffic and returning down Ave. I, before heading back to the same area in the 1200 block of Bryant, where he skidded into the Cross Keys parking lot. 

"I was probably by that point--because I was having to slow down for traffic and observe safety, and he wasn't--by the time I got here I was about three blocks behind him," Spearman said. 

When he arrived on scene, Spearman and other officers surrounded the car and set up a perimeter. Witnesses on scene confirmed that he went through the Cross Keys parking lot and into the backyard of a residence, Spearman said. 

Police immediately set up a perimeter that stretched several blocks and included the apartment complex, calling in roughly a dozen units to patrol and search the scene. K9 units were also on the ground when the suspect was apprehended.

"We suspected that he was in that house, [so we] contacted the owner," Spearman said. "Through speaking with the owner, we were able to determine that he was inside. The owner spoke to him, convinced him to come out, and he did come out voluntarily and turn himself over."

The negotiations with the owner took several minutes, and as spectators and the media looked on, police pulled a lake unit into the front yard and drew their long guns. Moments later, the man, whose identity has not yet been released, emerged from the house and surrendered peacefully. 

The suspect, a black male, has multiple felony and city warrants, Spearman explained, and will be charged with felony evading in a vehicle for his jaunt through town this evening. 

Spearman estimated that during the pursuit, his unit reached upwards of 60 mph, and the suspect may have gotten up to 70 mph.

The investigation is ongoing and police, as of 7:30 p.m., were still on scene interviewing witnesses.The traffic stop was initiated at 6:18 p.m.