MESA, AZ — The Mesa Police Department says a suspect wanted for robbery has been arrested after a pursuit and crash Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, undercover officers with the Community Relations Undercover Enforcement team witnessed suspicious activity outside a Safeway store near Apache Trail and Meridian Drive around 12:40 p.m.
Several people were spotted around a gold Chevy Malibu removing a tire and the license plate, according to police.
After officers ran the license plate and discovered it belonged to another vehicle, an African American man entered the car and drove away.
Police attempted to pull over the vehicle but the driver refused to stop.
A pursuit then took place involving Apache Junction police, Mesa police, MCSO and DPS.
The suspect continued the pursuit onto the Loop 202 and hit a DPS vehicle.
The suspect eventually crashed near the Loop 202 Red Mountain freeway and Gilbert Road causing a closure of eastbound lanes for several hours.
Police say the suspect was taken into custody at the scene and hospitalized as a precaution.
No officers were seriously injured in the incident.
Mesa police have taken over the investigation. Details on the crimes committed by the suspect before this incident haven’t been released.
*** Editor's note: The Apache Junction Police Department originally told ABC15 that the suspect involved in this pursuit was wanted for homicide. Mesa police later said the suspect was only wanted for robbery. Apache Junction also identified the suspect to ABC15, while Mesa police say his identity has not been released, therefore we removed it from the story.
