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Illegal immigrants caught following wreck


Staff Reports September 20, 2006


Four illegal aliens were turned over to Border Patrol after their car skidded off the road during a chase by Coolidge police.
The chase began at 12:25 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, when Officer Brad Narreau noticed a maroon Acura swerving and driving north at high speed along Skousen Road just north of Martin Road. Narreau pursued with lights and siren, but fell behind when the Acura shot across Arizona 87 without stopping.

According to Coolidge Police Lt. Greg Shepherd, Narreau terminated pursuit according to standard procedure as the car approached the Gila River Indian Reservation at Blackwater Road. Shepherd said Coolidge police normally do not chase suspects onto the reservation unless they are considered dangerous felons.

"All we had was poor driving behavior," Shepherd said. "The officer had the vehicle's license plate, and had it come back stolen or suspected in a robbery case, that would have changed the circumstances and we would have evaluated based on risk at that point."

However, just as Narreau broke off the chase he saw the fleeing car lose control and careen off the side of the road. He approached to check if anyone was injured and found the vehicle disabled and empty, but after searching the area and found four Hispanic men hiding in bushes. The men were turned over to the Gila River Police Department, which in turn handed them over to Border Patrol.

Shepherd said the department has been intercepting more illegal immigrant traffic in recent months.

"I don't know if there's more activity, or if we're just hitting it more often," Shepherd said.