A wild chase that began with a stolen car in Arlington ended with police using the "pit maneuver" to cause the driver to spin-out south of Waco Sunday.
Aaron Maurice Spence is being held in the McLennan County jail on charges of aggravated assault on a public servant, evading arrest, driving while intoxicated and unlawful use of a vehicle. He is likely to face aggravated assault and theft charges in Tarrant County, Arlington police say.
The winding chase started 10:20 at a gas station and convenience store in the 300 block of North Collins street when an officer who was on patrol saw a car strike a woman. As the officer pulled in, the driver sped off, said Tom Ciesco, a spokesman for the Arlington Police Department. The officer determined the woman was not seriously injured before she began to chase the stolen car, he said.
The chase went along I-30 into Dallas County, where the car got onto I-35-E and headed south. Arlington Police stopped chasing when they got to Waxahachie, Ciesco said. Department of Public Safety troopers took over.
The chase made its way south of Waco near the town of Hewitt when officers first laid out stop-sticks to pop the tires. Then police performed the pit maneuver to spin the car and trap the driver, said DPS Sgt. Ryan Howard. Spencer was booked into the McLennan County jail, awaiting extradition to Dallas County.
The circumstances surrounding how the car was stolen are also under investigation. The car owner apparently left the car running as she went into the convenience store, Ciesco says. The owner had a fob key, which is a radio controlled device. The fob lets a driver start a car without inserting a key into an ignition switch. However, the fob is only supposed to have a range of 35 to 40 feet, after which the car is supposed to shut down. In this case it did not.
"She had her key fob with here in the store because she was able to show the officer that when the officer came to check on her later" Ciesco said. "Somehow the car did not shut all the way down. The car was still on, and that's how the suspect was able to take off with it."