Monday night in Traverse City, Michigan tends to be a little sleepy. The town has been called America’s Cocaine Capitol, but this time of year it’s mostly winding down from a busy tourist season. There was a little excitement last Monday though, in the form of a car chase. Actually two car chases.
It started when a man called from a gas station to report that his car had been stolen from the local Best Buy, according to my local paper, the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Mid-call, the man hung up the phone and according to employees left the store. Shortly thereafter, the action started:
A deputy who was in the area spotted the stolen vehicle and attempted to pull the car over. The driver did not pull over and turned off the vehicle’s lights while driving toward the Grand Traverse Crossing Shopping Center. The driver eventually crashed the car and he and a passenger attempted to flee on foot.
A K9 officer was deployed who tracked down the driver, a 32-year-old Howard City man. He was arrested for operating under the influence of drugs, fleeing and eluding, driving on a suspended license and a weapons charge
The passenger is a 43-year-old Grand Rapids man and he was also taken into custody as he was wanted on a warrant in Charlevoix for contempt of court.
While police were dealing with those two suspects, the owner of the car — who was hiding in the backseat — climbed into the driver’s seat and drove away with the car. Police eventually caught up to him after he drove the car into a ditch.
Everyone eventually ended up getting arrested, including the car, which is being searched for Meth and Heroin. I’m going to see if I can find these guys and talk to them about just what exactly they had going on Monday.