Two Midland teens remained in custody Tuesday after being arrested for allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen truck.
Brandon Lamar Shelton and Nathan McDaniel, both 17, are each being held on two-third degree felonies of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest in a motor vehicle. The pair were arrested early Monday morning and remained in county jail late Tuesday on $20,000 bonds.
A Midland police officer witnessed a black Dodge truck matching the description of a vehicle reported stolen Sunday. The officer switched on his emergency lights and began to pursue the truck. The truck, allegedly driven by the teens, did not stop for the officer and began to evade the officer in a residential neighbor at speeds in excess of 80 mph, according to the pair's arrest reports.
The truck ran several stop signs and stop lights, continuing to travel at a high rate of speed. The primary officer's "vehicle became disabled due to the speed at which (the officer) had to travel in order to keep up with the truck," the reports read.
The lead officer had to back off the pursuit, while other officers began looking for the duo. Sometime shortly after the officers lost sight of the truck, a call was made to dispatch operators asking for an officer to check a male subject walking with a trench coat near the area police lost contact with the truck. The man was identified as McDaniel. Officers detained him once they learned that the black Dodge truck was located abandoned near the area McDaniel was walking, the reports continued.
While police were investigating the truck and looking for evidence, McDaniel's mother contacted an officer on the edge of the perimeter. She then allegedly told the officer she was looking for her son who called her needing a ride. She also told police a friend of her son's, Shelton, showed up at her house shortly before she left to pick up her son. She said he was "sweating and out of breath, asking if (McDaniel) made it home," according to documents filed with the Justice of the Peace Precinct 1.
Detectives interviewed several witnesses who said the pair matched the description of the driver and passenger. During an interview at the police station, the pair allegedly told detectives they stole the truck and led police on a high-speed chase.
If convicted of the third-degree felonies, the pair could serve up to 10 years in prison for each felony count.
James Cannon can be reached at [email protected].
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
