WHETSTONE, Ariz. — A police chase that reached speeds as high as 130 mph and a resulting foot chase through a desert area resulted in the arrest of one man, according to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office says the incident began on Feb. 1 around noon when an alert was put out about a car being stolen on Arizona Highway 90 at milepost 310 near Whetstone, which is about 14 miles north of Sierra Vista.
An officer from the Huachuca City Police Department was about four miles south of where the car was reported stolen when he saw it heading south toward Sierra Vista.
The officer then followed the car and confirmed that it was indeed the car in the report before trying to pull the car over near Buffalo Soldier Trail and Fry Boulevard in Huachuca City.
The driver, who was identified as 23-year-old Milton Javier Ahumada-Torres, signaled as if he was going to pull over, but then made a U-turn and began driving back toward Fry Blvd., turning toward the front gate of Fort Huachuca and then making another U-turn to go back to Highway 90.
That is when the chase began.
Officers from both Huachuca City and the Sierra Vista Police Departments chased Ahumada-Torres as he sped north on Highway 90, weaving into oncoming traffic multiple times and reaching speeds as high as 130 mph several times.
The speed of the chase caused the Sierra Vista police to pull back. Huachuca City police then worked with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety to put an end to the chase.
When Ahumada-Torres reached RV City and Oak Street in Whetstone, tire deflation devices that had been laid out by police caused the car's tires to be damaged.
Ahumada-Torres still tried to drive away, but soon spun out into the median.
After the vehicle came to a halt, Ahumada-Torres got out and tried to run away through the desert. A search, which involved a foot chase, K-9 units, a drone and a Customs and Border Protection helicopter, ensued and Ahumada-Torres was soon found.
The Sheriff's office says Ahumada-Torres is an undocumented migrant and has been booked into the Cochise County jail on multiple charges including possession of a stolen vehicle, endangerment and resisting arrest.
Police also found that Ahumada-Torres had been previously arrested for illegal entry into the United States and was out on supervised release.
The Huachuca City Police Department and the Cochise County Sheriff's Office are investigating the case.
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