GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A theft suspect rammed cars and halted traffic on Interstate 5 before he was arrested in Grants Pass.
At about 9:10 a.m. Friday, a Grants Pass police officer reportedly saw a stolen Dodge pickup truck and followed it to the area of Northeast Hillcrest Land near Northeast Terrance Drive.
The Grants Pass Police Department said the pickup pulled into a residential driveway as the officer coordinated with other units to drive behind the stolen truck. That’s when the driver of the truck got into a white Acura and started ramming vehicles, including patrol cars, as officers blocked him in.
According to GPPD, the suspect eventually abandoned the Acura and tried to flee on foot.
Police said they set up a perimeter around the neighborhood and the suspect was eventually spotted with a stolen bicycle. The suspect fled again, jumping over fences toward Interstate 5.
When he got to I-5, he reportedly ran onto the roadway. As vehicles began to stop, he tried to get inside some of them, police said.
According to GPPD, they continued to chase the suspect and used less-than-lethal measures — a bean bag shell and a taser — to take him into custody.
No citizens were injured in the incident and officers sustained only minor injuries.
The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Chauncey Justice McKinney of Cave Junction, was lodged in the Josephine County Jail for two warrants involving weapons, eluding, a parole violation, vehicle theft, reckless driving, and bicycle theft.
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