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Traffic stop spurs chase


By Jesse Olivarez and Bill Kramer
The Oklahoman

An early-morning traffic stop by a Yukon policeman led to a full-scale manhunt Tuesday for 18 suspected illegal immigrants.

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The FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and several state and local law enforcement agencies combed the area near Interstate 40 and Mustang Road after 18 men fled from a traffic stop, officials said.

Ten men - including three not believed to have been in the van - had been detained in Oklahoma City by Tuesday evening, while 11 remained at large.

Officials first contacted the men when Yukon officer Jared Reed said he saw a van swerving on eastbound I-40 and pulled it over.

After stopping for Reed, the driver told the officer he was en route to Atlanta from Sacramento, Calif. But he didn’t tell the officer he had 17 passengers.

Reed said he began asking the driver questions, noticing the vehicle had numerous people inside.

The driver handed Reed an Oregon driver’s license and answered all of the officer’s questions. A Canadian County sheriff’s deputy arrived to assist moments later. Reed said he checked the driver and the front passenger for weapons and then made all of the occupants exit the van so he could search for weapons. He found none.

“They didn’t speak a lot, but they did everything we asked them to do. They weren’t doing anything that made me believe there was something bad about to happen.�

After he was satisfied it was safe, Reed said he put the men back inside the van and closed the doors and told them to stay put.

“It wasn’t a ... tense situation at all.�

‘The party was started’

Yukon Deputy Chief John Corn said immigration officials then were called to the scene. Corn said the arrival of the transport vehicle may have been what prompted the men to flee.

“In a situation like that, they are pretty accustomed to those type vehicles,� he said. “They know exactly who that is and what that means to them. And the party was started at that point.�

Reed said as soon as the transport vehicle showed up, all of the men darted from the van.

“It all happened at the same time,� he said. “We opened our doors. He pulled up, and they all got out and ran.�

Reed, the other Yukon officer and the customs officer followed the men into the ditch running along the south side of the roadway.

“I tackled one of the guys from behind and caught him and took him into custody,� he said.

The men all ran the same direction. They headed south towards the Woodrun Village Apartments, 11501 Lochwood Drive, towards a barbed-wire fence and an incline.

While chasing the men, the customs agent fell over a fence and rolled down an embankment, said Mike Arnold, resident agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Oklahoma.

Some of the fleeing men began kicking and beating the customs officer, Arnold said.

Emergency Medical Service Authority workers took the 40-year-old agent to OU Medical Center. His injury was not life-threatening, said Lara O’Leary, EMSA spokeswoman.

Seven men from the van had been detained within a few hours, officials said. Another three men, including one with gang tattoos, were being detained while customs officials determined their legal status. The trio of men were not thought to have been traveling in the van.

After the men fled, authorities swarmed the area in search of the remaining men and urged people working in surrounding businesses to be watchful.

About 6:20 a.m., Laurie Mauldin, general manager at the Best Western at I-40 and Mustang Road, and Lavonna Booth, a hotel desk clerk, were working when they saw four men walking in front of the hotel. They immediately called police.

“I was surprised they were just walking through the parking lot,� Booth said.

Brandon Rogers, 40, a crew chief with the Oklahoma City public works department, was installing guardrails near Mustang Road and I-40 when he noticed two men emerge from some nearby brush and dust themselves off. From the way the two men were acting, he figured the men were among those being sought.

Rogers then flagged down a highway patrol trooper driving by and told him about the two men. Authorities soon swooped in and took the two into custody.

Hunt prompts school lockdown

The manhunt prompted Mustang Public Schools administrators to lockdown four schools.

All exterior doors at Mustang Trails Elementary, Mustang Creek Elementary, Mustang Valley Elementary and Mustang North Middle School were secured and students were kept inside.

The search continued into the night, Arnold said. He said customs officials have no evidence that indicates the men are to be considered armed and dangerous, but he urged citizens to stay alert.

Anyone who sees the men or any suspicious activity is asked to call to call 911 to report the sighting.