A routine New Year’s Eve traffic stop in East Texas escalated into a high-speed pursuit that concluded with a rollover crash and the arrest of a man linked to what authorities called evidence of a large-scale fraud ring.
Deputies from the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office tried to pull over a white Volkswagen SUV on Highway 59 South on December 31 for a violation. The driver initially stopped on the shoulder but accelerated away as officers approached on foot, according to the sheriff’s office.
The chase continued along Highway 59 before the SUV exited onto Highway 7 West. While attempting a westward turn, the vehicle lost control and flipped onto its side.
Dashcam footage from the deputies’ patrol car captured the driver kicking out the front windshield to escape the wrecked SUV. He crawled through the shattered glass and tried to run but was quickly detained.
The driver, identified as 32-year-old Michael Foluso Thomas of Elmont, New York, sustained a severe laceration on his arm from the broken windshield. Deputies applied two tourniquets to control the bleeding and provided treatment at the scene before he was taken to a local hospital.
A search of the SUV revealed fake IDs, fake credit cards, and many items bought with fraudulent devices, the sheriff’s office said.
After his release from the hospital, Thomas was booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail on charges of evading arrest, resisting arrest, and two counts of fraud. His bond was set at $305,000.
The sheriff’s office said the fraud investigation remains ongoing and that more charges will probably be filed at a later time.
