Man wanted out of Texas
“It’s picking up more and more. They don’t have nothing to lose.”
Pima Police Chief Diane Cauthen
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A man possibly high on methamphetamine led police on a high-speed chase Tuesday morning in which he attempted to strike officers multiple times and sped at 100 mph through school zones.
The chase went through the Graham County school zones, between 7 – 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The suspect was apprehended in Peridot after his vehicle struck stop sticks multiple times and had two blown tires.
“We’re getting more and more chases,” said Pima Police Chief Diane Cauthen. “They’re running from us.”
The chase reportedly began when an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper attempted to pull over a 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck in an attempt to locate (ATL) for driving recklessly on Highway 70.
The suspect, identified as Giovanni Casillas, 29, of Deming, New Mexico, initially stopped for the trooper at about 7:06 a.m. but then took off westbound on Highway 70 at speeds up to 100 mph.
DPS terminated the pursuit as Casillas entered Safford, but he continued speeding at 100 mph as he raced past 14th Avenue.
Casillas then entered Thatcher and allegedly attempted to strike a Thatcher Police officer as he sped through the school zone in Thatcher.
Pima had some more warning and sprung into action to clear the roadway of the danger.
“I made sure that the school zone was clear,” said Pima Police Chief Diane Cauthen. “The call was the guy was going through there at 100 mph. He went into oncoming traffic in Pima and nearly collided twice within that intersection of Main Street and Highway 70 (school zone in Pima).”
The suspect continued westbound and reportedly attempted to run a pursuing Thatcher officer off the road just west of Pima. Then, near Fort Thomas, Casillas allegedly intentionally drove at a Pima officer in an attempt to strike him, according to Cauthen. The Pima officer was over on the eastbound lane’s dirt shoulder, attempting to keep traffic back as the suspect headed westbound toward him. Cauthen said Casillas then drove across lanes toward the Pima officer and reportedly came within a few feet of ramming him. The Pima officer reported Casillas’ speed at over 100 mph at that juncture as well.
Casillas continued speeding and swerving at oncoming traffic as he raced through Fort Thomas at about 7:24 a.m.
After going through Fort Thomas, officers caught one of Casillas’ rear tires with a stop stick at about milepost 272. However, the suspect continued fleeing with one flat tire running on the rim.
After trying to strike multiple officers and leading them on a 60-plus mile chase, DPS brought out their helicopter and made sure to keep an eye in the sky on him.
Casillas continued westbound at speeds of 95 mph through the Point-of-Pines exit and was still swerving at officers and oncoming traffic as he came into Peridot. A second set of stop sticks took out another tire, but the suspect continued to swerve at officers with two flat tires as he crossed the bridge over the Gila River.
Casillas finally stopped just west of the bridge near the Bashas’. At that point, he was taken into custody as he allegedly attempted to ingest a large quantity of suspected methamphetamine. Casillas was then taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Numerous charges are pending, and, according to DPS Media Relations Specialist Bart Graves, Casillas is also wanted on felony charges out of Texas.
“Fortunately, nobody got hurt is the main thing,” said Cauthen. “No officer got hurt – we came really close. And the severity of these chases are getting worse and worse . . . There were times I was like, ‘Heavenly Father please make sure nobody gets killed here.’ There’s some scary, scary – on that road too, to San Carlos.”
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