La Joya police seize 430 pounds of weed after high-speed chase
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March 08, 2011 12:02 PM
The Monitor

LA JOYA — Police seized 430 pounds of marijuana here Tuesday morning after a high-speed chase.

The chase began at about 7 a.m. after an officer pulled over a green Ford Explorer XLT for speeding and driving without a front license plate. When the officer left his cruiser and attempted to approach the Explorer, the vehicle bolted east on Expressway 83.

With the patrol cruiser following at a distance, the Explorer eventually left the Expressway and crashed into a telephone pole on Abram Road between Mile 4 and Mile 5, said Lt. Julian Gutierrez. On impact, the pole was ripped from the ground, knocking out power to nearby homes.

When the officer arrived at the scene, both men inside the vehicle had already fled.

Inside the Explorer, officers found 22 bundles of marijuana weighing 430.2 pounds. The vehicle, parked outside the La Joya police station on Tuesday morning, would likely be taken to a wrecker, Gutierrez said.

The vehicle's roof appeared to have crumpled during the crash, collapsing several inches into the passenger compartment. A spider web of safety glass covered the driver's side windshield.

A search of public records didn't show any matches for the Explorer's license plate.

La Joya Police Chief Jose Del Angel praised the patrolman, saying he'd heeded department training to follow at a safe distance during a chase. Del Angel declined to release the patrolman's name.

“The cartels will come, you know?â€