Suspicious Man with Drugs Leads Police on Chase Through Santa Rita

San Angelo Police Officer Caroline Jackson saw a suspicious pedestrian walking through Santa Rita streets and ended up chasing him throughout the neighborhood before apprehending him atop a roof of a residence.

At 10:26 p.m. Monday night, police dispatch recorded “suspicious activity” ongoing at the 2100 block of West Avenue J. That is where Officer Jackson found the white male suspect.

San Angelo Police Sgt. Chris Carpenter said that Jackson initiated a traffic stop on the suspect and initiated a search. The suspect handed over a cigarette package where what appeared to be narcotics were stashed. While Jackson was inspecting the cigarettes, the suspect bolted.

The police setup a perimeter in and around the Santa Rita area, but the suspect was cagey. “While we setup one perimeter, the suspect would jump out of it, forcing us to move the perimeter,” Carpenter said.

Jackson explained the foot chase: “We were at the intersection of Avenue K and S. Harrison. We went north. We went through some houses near the 1400 block, then went west,” she said. Then backups arrived and the perimeter was setup.

The suspect was re-acquired at the 2100 block of West Avenue J, and the suspect went north. He jumped into the alley behind some homes on Live Oak in a zigzag path, and then finally ended up climbing upon the roof of 2320 West Avenue J.

During the pursuit, police found a handgun the alleyway behind S. Harrison. Carpenter wasn’t ready to confirm the gun was the suspect’s, but the police escorted the suspect to the location of the handgun to see if he will identify it.

Carpenter said that the suspect will be arrested for the narcotics and evading arrest. Other charges may follow, based upon the findings of the ongoing investigation.

The last time Officer Jackson was in the news was in in 2012. Then, she single-handedly tackled a knife-wielding male shoplifter at Wal-Mart after the suspect punched her in the head.