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WHITLEY COUNTY - An early morning pursuit on Sunday in Whitley County resulted in the arrest of a Warsaw man.
According to a news release from the Indiana State Police, shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday an Indiana State Police SWAT member was on U.S. 30 near County Road 600 East in Whitley County, headed to Elkhart County for an emergency call. During his emergency run, the ISP trooper noticed a vehicle in front of him turn its lights off and speed up. Since the trooper was headed to another call, he was not looking to stop the individual, later identified as Jose Miguel Garrido, 20, of Warsaw. However, it appears when Garrido saw the red and blue lights he began to run from the trooper, the release states. The trooper, identifying the dangerous speed (faster than the trooper who was on an emergency run) and lack of lights, then began pursuing the vehicle.
During the pursuit, the vehicle was identified as a gray Nissan 370 with Indiana license plate "GARRIDO.” As the pursuit continued west, other troopers and officers from other agencies arrived to assist. Another trooper was able to successfully deploy a tire deflation device (Stop Sticks) in attempt to safely end the pursuit.
Although the tire deflation device was successful, the Nissan continued west on U.S. 30 into Kosciusko County where it crashed near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Old Road 30. Garrido then ran from the crash but was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit. There were no other vehicles involved in the crash.
Garrido denied medical treatment and was arrested on several charges in Whitley and Kosciusko counties. The charges include resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, a level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor; forgery - possession/producing/distributing false government ID, a class A misdemeanor; leaving the scene of a crash, a class B misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor; possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor; and reckless driving, a class C misdemeanor.
The ISP troopers were assisted by Whitley County Sheriff's Department, Columbia City Police Department and the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.
