Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: William Nicholson
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A routine patrol turned into a high-speed chase through the mountain area of Stockton Pass south of the city on Friday.
According to a press release from the Safford Police Department, an officer performed a license plate check on a vehicle while on patrol and the plate came up as stolen out of Apache Junction.
When the officer attempted to perform a traffic stop, the vehicle abruptly made a U-turn and headed south on U.S. Highway 191 at a high rate of speed.
Officers gave chase as the vehicle made it halfway to the freeway and then turned westbound on State Route 266 after an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper also joined the pursuit.
The chase went through Stockton Pass and out to the other side of the Pinaleño Mountains to the Bonita/Klondyke area.
The vehicle then blew out a tire and the driver, identified as William Clayton Nicholson, 45, attempted to flee on foot. Nicholson was quickly apprehended, however, and was booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on charges of unlawful flight from pursuing law enforcement, theft, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
