Two people, a male and a female, were arrested in Haltom City after a Fort Worth police chase led to a crash on the morning of July 30.
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes announced the incident in a news conference later that day, explaining that the chase began after the department was alerted about a stolen vehicle by a license plate camera around 10:48 a.m. Officers had found the vehicle and attempted to stop it, but say the driver drove off.
Noakes says that the driver, identified as 23-year-old Jessica Jean Jarvis, was in the vehicle with 23-year-old Eliseo Suarez Jr. As officers went after them, Suarez hung outside a passenger-side door and shot at them multiple times, while officers did not return fire, according to Noakes.
At one point, Jarvis crashed into a trailer around the intersection of Denton Highway and Northeast Loop 820. Jarvis and Suarez went out of the car and attempted to run away, but officers took them into custody. The arrest was with “minimal effort,” says Noakes.
A passenger in the trailer was injured but is now stable after receiving treatment at a hospital. The two suspects were taken to the hospital for treatment of the injuries they sustained in the crash. The driver of the trailer was not injured, nor were any officers.
Officers recovered a handgun and long gun at the scene, Noakes says.
“The suspect who fired at the officers was someone we had been searching for as part of our violent crime initiative. He was on our radar,” the police chief said.
FOX 4 News reports that the incident was witnessed by Rafael Aguirre and some of his coworkers as they worked outside of their car shop. “He shot at least five or six times at them,” Aguirre says referring to Suarez.
Plumber Larry Burdette also told the news outlet that he witnessed the incident while he was at Morey Lumber on 28th Street.
“I heard a gunshot, and I turned towards traffic,” he recalled. “And there was a car coming by with a man sitting on the passenger side door, out the window with a shotgun, pointing it at the police chasing him, firing rounds with the shotgun.”
Noakes commends the violent crime initiative, which he says is effective despite some residents’ doubts.
“For those who want to see results, for those who may not think the violent crime initiative is working, I implore you to look at this,” he said. “This happens every day, but you don’t always see it.”
Suarez faces three counts of assault with a deadly weapon against a public servant and one count of evading arrest stemming from the incident. He also has three outstanding felony warrants – one for possession of a firearm by a felon and two for aggravated assault.
Jarvis faces charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle and evading arrest.
The two suspects were taken to the Tarrant County jail where Jarvis’ bail is set at $35,000 and Suarez’s bail is set at $60,000.
