Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office mobilized forces to search for a warrant suspect who fled from a traffic stop along McDowell Mountain Road north of Fountain Hills on Tuesday afternoon, April 14.

According to MCSO Capt. Larry Kratzer, the incident began when Lake Patrol deputies received a report of suspects shooting and attempting to damage a lock to a gate into the Box Bar recreation site near Rio Verde. Responding deputies stopped a vehicle for a speeding violation, when they approached the vehicle the driver identified himself and deputies found he had a warrant for his arrest and was driving with a suspended license.

When deputies returned to the vehicle to place him under arrest the driver sped off saying he would not go back to jail.

About a mile from the stop the vehicle crashed and the driver fled the scene. Four passengers with him remained with the vehicle, and were uninjured.

As the suspect fled into the desert onto the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, MCSO brought K-9 officers and a helicopter to join in the search. As the search was being called off the suspect was spotted in the desert and the search continued, but the suspect was able to elude deputies. He was last seen southeast of McDowell Mountain Road.

Fort McDowell Police were notified and joined the search. Later in the afternoon Fort McDowell officers spotted the suspect walking along the road and took him into custody. He was brought to MCSO District 7 in Fountain Hills where he was booked on the warrant and other charges.

The suspect said he was scared and ran non-stop as far as the river and hid out for a while. Kratzer said MCSO did not expand its perimeter to consider he would get that far as fast as he did.