File Photo/Courtesy DPS: An Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper took a reckless driver into custody after a high-speed chase from Safford to Peridot on Tuesday morning. The driver is suspected to have been driving impaired.
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A New Mexico man has been apprehended after leading police on a high-speed chase through Graham County from Safford to Peridot on Tuesday morning. No injuries were reported in the chase.
Giovanni Casillas, 29, of Deming, New Mexico, was taken into custody at about 7:51 a.m. in the Peridot area of the San Carlos Apache Reservation after the pursuit ended at about milepost 271 of U.S. Highway 70.
The chase began after an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper responded to an attempt to locate (ATL) an erratic driver and pulled over a 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck for driving recklessly on Highway 70. The trooper initiated the traffic stop at about 7:06 a.m., but after first yielding for the officer, the suspect sped away westbound on Highway 70.
According to DPS Media Relations Specialist Bart Graves, a pursuit was engaged by the trooper but eventually called off due to the reckless driving and excessive speed of the suspect vehicle.
However, a Graham County Sheriff’s Office deputy had also engaged in the pursuit and the suspect, later identified as Casillas, allegedly attempted to strike the deputy’s vehicle.
DPS re-engaged in the pursuit, which ended at milepost 271 of Highway 70. DPS utilized spike strips to disable the vehicle near the Bashas’ after the bridge over the Gila River where Gila County meets Graham County.
According to police band communication, Casillas reached a speed of over 90 mph during the chase and swerved into oncoming traffic multiple times. He continued to flee after having one tire struck by stop sticks and then had a second tire punctured before finally stopping in Peridot.
Graves said troopers believed Casillas was impaired by drugs, and he was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
Charges regarding this morning’s events are pending, but, according to Graves, Casillas also has active warrants for his arrest elsewhere, including felony warrants from Texas.
