Crime Report: Officer Chases Shoplifter on Foot
By: Officer George Spindler, APD
Updated: July 27, 2012
Last night at about 9:10, Officers Brad Compton and Jody Peavy responded to a disturbance in progress outside a business in the 4300 block Southwest Drive. APD Dispatch had been notified by a concerned citizen that a male and female were involved in an altercation and that the male subject was throwing sacks of groceries. The citizen also alerted Dispatch that these two subjects were on foot and walking down Catclaw Drive. By the time officers began arriving, the male and female subject were no longer together. Officer Compton made a search of the area and located the male subject in the 4200 block of Wyndrock Drive. The investigation revealed that the female subject had been involved in a physical altercation with her boyfriend and that she had visible injuries consistent with a physical altercation. The female victim refused medical attention. The male subject was arrested for assault family violence.
Just after midnight, Officer Kevin Pruitt was in the process of looking for a shoplifting suspect that had just recently fled from a local grocery store when he spotted a male subject running to a vehicle. The male subject ran into a vehicle and got into the driver's seat and then drove off. Officer Pruitt continued his observations and then observed the subject make a moving traffic violation in the 1500 block of Woodard Street. Officer Pruitt contacted this subject in the parking lot of a nearby business in the 3000 block of South 14 Street. The subject stopped his vehicle but then immediately exited the vehicle. Officer Pruitt told the subject to stop. After taking one step towards Officer Pruitt's patrol car, the subject fled on-foot and Officer Pruitt gave chase. The subject continued to run as Officer Pruitt commanded the man to stop. Officer Pruitt continued to chase the subject over fences and through a resident's yard until the subject was caught in the vicinity of the 1500 block of Matador Street. The investigation revealed that the young male subject, under the age of 21, had the odor of alcohol coming from his person. The investigation further confirmed that the subject had consumed alcohol and then drove his vehicle on a public roadway. The subject was arrested for evading detention and for driving under the influence; both misdemeanor offenses.






