Coleman County law enforcement was involved in two separate pursuits on Sunday evening, Aug. 7, both of which originated in neighboring counties. According to Coleman County Sheriff Les Cogdill:
On Sunday, August 7, 202, at approximately 9:53 p.m., Coleman County was notified that the Winters Police Department was attempting to stop a silver-colored Ford F150 pickup truck that was fleeing from officers in Winters.
At 10:05 p.m., Coleman County law enforcement located the vehicle on State Road 153 eastbound in the town of Coleman. While the vehicle was traveling at speeds above 100 mph. The Coleman County Sheriff’s Office, Coleman Police Department, Santa Anna Police Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Winters Police Department attempted to stop the vehicle. The suspect traveled east on Walnut Street, then turned onto Neches Street and started heading north. Once the vehicle reached North Neches and the US Hwy 84 Bypass, the driver turned onto the US Hwy 84 Bypass and began heading south towards Santa Anna.
The suspect vehicle was eventually stopped on US Highway 84 between State Highway 153 and FM 568 and the driver was taken into custody. The driver has been identified as Alberto Cantu of Bangs, Texas. Cantu was then taken back to Runnels County Jail.
Cantu was arrested on the following charges:
- Avoid arrest with vehicle 3rd crime degree
- Misdemeanor Class B Marijuana Possession
- Reckless Driving Class B Misdemeanor
- Interference with public duties Class B misdemeanor.
SECOND SUITE
At 10:58 p.m. Sunday, the Coleman County dispatcher was notified by the Brown County dispatcher that law enforcement was attempting to stop a vehicle they were pursuing that had just entered Coleman County. . The Santa Anna Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety located the vehicle just east of the town of Santa Anna. The vehicle was traveling over 90 mph when it entered the town of Santa Anna. Santa Anna PD and Texas DPS said the vehicle was a small gray vehicle with paper tags and was heading towards Santa Anna.
The Coleman County Sheriff‘s Office observed the vehicle exiting Santa Anna and attempted to arrest it for speeding and a faulty headlight. The vehicle accelerated to speeds over 100 mph. Coleman County law enforcement pursued the vehicle north on U.S. Highway 84 toward the town of Coleman. During the chase between Santa Anna and Coleman, the vehicle continued to travel at speeds over 100 mph and occasionally drove on the wrong side of the road.
As the suspect reached the intersection of US Highway 84 and State Highway 153, he turned onto State Hwy 153 (Walnut Street) and began heading west on Walnut Street at speeds above 80mph. The suspect then turned onto Neches Street and began moving north, reaching speeds in excess of 90 mph. The suspect continued to travel north on Highway 84 towards Taylor County. During the chase on Highway 84 between Coleman County and Taylor County, speeds reached over 115 mph. Several times during the chase, the driver was on the wrong side of the road and sometimes turned off his headlights.
Taylor County was notified that the pursuit was heading to their county. The pursuit entered Taylor County, at which point the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety out of Abilene assisted in the pursuit. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was able to deploy stop sticks near the Hill Top gas station. The deployment of the stop sticks was successful but the driver refused to stop and speeds dropped to around 15 mph. Law enforcement conducted a PIT maneuver on the suspect, which ended the pursuit south of the town of Abilene. The driver was identified as Blake Lee Justice, 21, of Abilene, Texas. (Justice is shown in the photo) Justice was brought back to the Coleman County Jail and sentenced on the following charges:
- Avoid arrest with a vehicle, 3rd Felony degree, Bond set at $20,000
- Unauthorized use of vehicle, felony in state prison, bail set at $20,000
- Warrant out of Taylor County for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, 3rd Felony degree, Bond set at $15,000
- Parole warrant (blue warrant) without bail
The agencies involved in this lawsuit were: Coleman County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Anna PD, Coleman PD, Coleman DPS, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and Taylor County DPS.
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