09/25/2023 Stop Stick News: A National Roundup: Law Enforcement’s Latest Victories in Vehicle Pursuit Stops

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at 3:32 a.m., Riverside County Sheriff’s Office officials report that Moreno Valley Sheriff’s deputies located a stolen vehicle traveling westbound on Sunnymead Boulevard and Indian Avenue. Specifically, the vehicle was reported stolen from the city of Menifee.

Deputies attempted a vehicle stop, but the vehicle failed to yield, and a pursuit began. Consequently, the pursuit continued through the city of Moreno Valley until spike strips disabled the vehicle.

Immediately following the stop, the driver, later identified as 28-year-old Johnny Isaac Zuniga, a resident of Perris, ran from the vehicle and into a nearby housing community. As a result, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) assisted with the search.

Subsequently, community members advised that Zuniga was hiding in their residence. SEB members gave commands, and Zuniga ultimately surrendered without incident. Finally, officials arrested and booked Zuniga for felony evading and burglary.

On Monday, first responders found an SUV burning outside a Cary church. Specifically, before 1:30 p.m., Apex police and Cary firefighters responded to the burning SUV near Green Level Baptist Church.

Police said the situation started near NC Highway 55 in Apex. There, officers interacted with a woman who displayed signs of intoxication. Subsequently, the woman got into a vehicle and began to leave the scene, driving recklessly.

Officers used stop sticks to puncture the vehicle’s tires. Nevertheless, the intoxicated driver still fled, initiating a pursuit. Police said they do not know if the driver stopped or if the vehicle broke down. Regardless, the pursuit ended at the church, where officers took the driver into custody.

A deadly carjacking in Palm Bay, Florida, sparked a chase that led law enforcement into Indian River County. Ultimately, officers caught the suspect, and he is now back in Brevard County.

The incident occurred late Tuesday night at the 7-Eleven on Bayside Lakes Boulevard. Palm Bay police reported that 23-year-old Evan Chambliss shot and killed a man during the carjacking.

Police received the initial call for shots fired at 11:40 p.m. When officers arrived, they found the victim, who later died from his injuries. Police then issued a “be on the lookout” order for Chambliss in surrounding counties. Residents, like Lenord Conception, expressed shock over the violence.

Plymouth police say they took four juveniles into custody overnight. This followed a chase involving a stolen vehicle.

The incident began when, according to police, Medina and Plymouth officers received a dispatch around 1 a.m. Wednesday. The car manufacturer tracked a stolen vehicle near Brockton Lane and Medina Road.

Immediately, when officers found the vehicle, the motorist fled, and police began a pursuit. Ultimately, the pursuit ended in Golden Valley near Highway 55 and Boone Avenue. Police deployed stop sticks, disabling all of the vehicle’s tires.

BLOOMFIELD – A I-69 northbound pursuit, Tuesday, at approximately 10:15 a.m., resulted in the arrest of an Evansville man on a variety of charges.

Master Trooper John Yung was stopped on the right shoulder of I-69, north of the 89-mile marker, with his rear red/blue emergency lights activated when a blue 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Trey B. Bedwell, 35, of Evansville, failed to slow down and move over for a stationary emergency vehicle.

While using a VASCAR speed-timing device to track the Cobalt’s speed for more than a mile, Yung determined Bedwell’s vehicle speed exceeded 99 miles per hour.

Police arrested Jose Martinez, 36, for multiple charges, including three counts of flight to avoid arrest. Furthermore, these charges also included two counts of willful reckless driving, one count of reckless driving, two counts of obstructing a peace officer, and one count of resisting arrest.

The incident began when, according to Grand Island Police, officers attempted to stop Martinez, who drove a 2003 Dodge Dakota. This occurred around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday at Stolley Park Road and South Locust Street. However, police say the vehicle refused to stop. In fact, it drove 55 MPH in a 35 MPH zone while passing multiple vehicles.

Ultimately, Capt. Jim Duering said officers later discontinued the pursuit due to high speeds and safety concerns.

Currently, a 38-year-old man remains behind bars after he ran a stop sign in Reddick and led Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a high-speed chase that ended in Citra.

The pursuit began when, on Wednesday, two stationary MCSO deputies saw a red pickup truck run a stop sign. They were near the intersection of NW 155th Street and Highway 441 in Reddick. Subsequently, the arrest report identified the driver and sole occupant as Graham Harley Taggart.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday afternoon that they captured a suspect who allegedly led law enforcement on a chase in a stolen ambulance.

The incident began when the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office responded to the situation around 12:20 p.m. Someone reported that a suspect stole an ambulance from the Mary Black Campus of Spartanburg Medical Center.

Immediately, law enforcement chased the stolen ambulance into Spartanburg, where a city police officer’s patrol car crashed. Fortunately, the department later confirmed the officer was not injured following the crash.

Subsequently, the chase continued into Union County, resulting in the crash of a Union County deputy’s patrol car. Ultimately, deputies deployed stopped sticks, which forced the ambulance to stop at Whitmire Highway and Highway 176.

Following the stop, deputies took the driver, Terrance Darby, into custody. They charged him with reckless driving and added that other charges are pending.