Flat tire stops 18-year-old suspect’s vehicle in brief Fort Worth police chase
An 18-year-old wanted for evading arrest led Fort Worth officers on a brief chase Wednesday night before his vehicle stopped after it suffered a flat fire in southeast Fort Worth, police said.
Two passengers who were in the suspect’s car also were detained after they ran to an apartment complex.
Jail records identified the driver as 18-year-old Leonardo Juarez Sandoval, who faces new charges of evading arrest. An 18-year-old passenger was identified as Bryan Mejia, who faces a charge of tampering with evidence. A juvenile passenger was released on scene to a parent.
The case began just after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when gang unit officers were alerted that a vehicle whose driver had a warrant for evading arrest was near Chickasaw Avenue and Miller Avenue
Fort Worth police said that they lessened the danger of a pursuit by sending officers to place tire-deflation devices in areas that the driver would likely use to flee a traffic stop.
Just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, an officer driving a marked patrol unit saw Sandoval get in the driver’s seat of his car and begin to drive away, police said.
The officer tried to stop the vehicle, but the suspect quickly accelerated in an attempt to elude the officer, police said.
After its tire deflated, the car briefly slowed near the 4600 block of Miller Avenue, where the two passengers ran into the Nueva Vista Apartments and were taken into custody without incident, police said.
Just after 9 p.m., the car stopped in the 3700 block of Chickasaw Avenue and the chase ended with the driver being taken into custody.
Other charges are expected as the result of narcotics and a stolen gun being discarded from the vehicle during the pursuit. Those items were recovered by officers on scene., police said.
The chase lasted about five minutes.
