Shots-fired call leads to multiple car chases near Fort Worth, police say; 2 arrested
A Haltom City officer began chasing a car he saw speeding away following the sound of several gunshots Sunday night — the first of multiple pursuits that would occur throughout the city for two suspects who didn’t stop for law enforcement, police said.
Officers from both Haltom City and Fort Worth eventually caught up with the two men, 24-year-old Robert Juarez and 22-year-old Armando Aguilar III, Haltom City police said in a news release Tuesday. Juarez had started the initial chase in a gray Ford Fusion, police said, until he crashed into a creek bed and ran away from officers.
At one point he got into a gray Nissan Cube that also didn’t stop for the police officers who were pursuing the suspect. That car was being driven by Aguilar III, police said.
Both men were arrested on the charges of evading arrest or detention, and evading arrest or detention with a vehicle. Juarez was additionally charged with a parole violation and a Westlake traffic ticket, police said, and Aguilar was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon.
No one was injured as a result of the shots fired incident, police spokesman Sgt. Eric Peters said in an email.
Around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, an officer sitting in a car in the 3800 block of Mercury Street heard the sound of six to seven gunshots and saw the Fusion driving away fast from the scene, police said. He followed the car as it went through two stop signs and turned onto North Riverside Drive, eventually activating his lights and siren. The car didn’t stop and continued winding through neighborhoods.
The driver lost control of the car before crashing into a creek bed near Chandler Drive and Hollis Street, police said. Haltom City officers later saw someone matching his description getting into Aguilar’s Nissan, police said, and tried to pull over that car as well.
Officers from Haltom City as well as Fort Worth then chased the car through the city before it stopped in the Haltom City Recreation Center parking lot, police said. The two men ran away, police said, but officers were able to quickly catch up with them and take them into custody.
Officers recovered a black Taurus 9 mm handgun that had been tossed on the ground at some point during the foot pursuit, police said.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
