Wanted Man Leads Police on Foot Chase, K-9 Finds Him

A wanted man was spotted by police and led them on a foot chase down S. Bell St.

At around 7:30 p.m. Friday evening, a San Angelo police patrol officer passed a rented U-Haul van. Peering inside the U-Haul van, the officer recognized who he thought was a man wanted on multiple warrants in the passenger seat. The policeman U-turned his patrol car and flipped on the lights.

The U-Haul van didn’t stop. Instead, it led the police for a while and then turned into the parking lot of a laundromat at the corner of Ave. L and Bell. The policeman witnessed the passenger, who was now a suspect, exit the U-Haul and go inside the laundromat.

The officer followed the suspect into the laundromat and confronted him. When asked for his name, the suspect refused to answer. When asked if the suspect was the name of the wanted man, the suspect suggested that he grab his ID card out of the U-Haul. With that, the suspect pushed the officer aside and ran out the door.

A foot chase ensued. Police established a perimeter and called in a K-9 unit. After around 20 minutes of searching, the K-9 alerted on a scent in the yard of the Belmore Baptist Church. The suspect was found under a tree in the church grounds and arrested without incident.

Update Apr. 11 at 3:50 p.m.

The San Angelo Police Department released the following information about this incident:

A San Angelo man was arrested last night after he led police on a brief foot pursuit.

Around 7:30 p.m. Friday evening, April 10, Sector 2 Patrol Officer J. Walston observed a U-Haul van driving in the 1500 block of South Bell Street when he recognized a male passenger as 46-year-old Anthony Davis, who was wanted by authorities for outstanding county arrest warrants. 

Officer Walston followed the van to a parking lot located at 1524 S. Bell and observed the male passenger exit the vehicle.  After an unsuccessful attempt to confirm the passenger’s identity with the van’s driver, Officer Walston soon located the male passenger inside a nearby Laundromat.  When Officer Walston attempted to obtain the man’s identity, the man said he would get his I.D. but instead pushed his way outside and led police on a brief foot pursuit throughout the neighborhood. 

A perimeter was quickly established and Police K-9 Team Officer B. Gesch and his Police Service Dog Duke arrived to assist with tracking the suspect.  During the track, Duke alerted to an area near Belmore Baptist Church where Officer Gesch spotted the man hiding underneath a tree.  Police took the man into custody without incident and confirmed his identity as Davis.

Davis was transported to the Tom Green County Jail and charged with one Tom Green County Warrant for Class A Misdemeanor Criminal Mischief, one Llano County Warrant for Evading Arrest Detention, two outstanding City Warrants, and Evading Arrest Detention during this incident.

The female driver, identified as Davis’s wife, was issued two traffic citations for transporting two children without proper Child Passenger Safety Seats.

Above: Police K-9 Team Officer B. Gesch and his Police Service Dog Duke. (Contributed/SAPD).