Slow-Speed Chase Ends With Arrest

The driver of a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee led Mesquite police on a slow-speed chase through parts of both Mesquite and Dallas Friday morning.

The chase started in Mesquite at about 10 a.m. near W. Cartwright Road and Interstate 635, but quickly moved into east and southeast Dallas.

Mesquite police said the driver of the SUV, later identifed by police as 31-year-old Edgar Rodriguez, was being pursued in relation to a theft at an area Albertson's grocery store.

According to police, they received a call that a customer was concealing multiple items of make-up and then left the store without paying for the items.

Officers located the vehicle and tried to make a traffic stop, but the driver refused to pull over. Driving at speeds between 30 and 40 mph, the driver was followed through east Dallas by no fewer than five police vehicles and Dallas' police helicopter. The driver stayed off of busy highways in favor of two-lane secondary roads with less traffic.

At least twice, officers attempted to flatten the man's tires using stop sticks.  The second deployment deflated the front two tires of the man's Jeep, forcing the driver to stop and surrender to police near the intersection of N. Bryan Belt Line Road and E. Kearney Street.

As the man exited the car, police moved in and took him into custody about 40 minutes after the chase began.

Rodriguez is expected to be charged with two state jail felonies for theft and evading apprehension.

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