BISBEE - A man was taken into custody Tuesday following a 12-mile chase in a vehicle filled with a marijuana just miles outside the Bisbee limits.
The unidentified man faces drug charges, said Bisbee Police Sgt. Taron Maddux.
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The U.S. Border Patrol tried to stop a gold Suburban at the Intersection of highways 80 and 90, Maddux said.
The driver made a U-turn and headed toward Bisbee at about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The Bisbee Police Department was notified of the Border Patrol's pursuit and set up tire spikes in two lanes at the Traffic Circle near Douglas Road.
The Suburban, which had about 900 to 1,200 pounds of marijuana inside, ran over the spikes, deflating three tires. But the driver kept the car traveling northward with smoke and tread coming from the deflated tires.
Maddux said the car was basically running on its rims at a slow speed while on Highway 92.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Department joined the pursuit, and a deputy shot out the vehicle's remaining inflated tire near the Don Luis area, about a mile from Naco Highway.
Maddux said the car was creeping along, but the man still had the gas floored and attempted to drive over officers.
Once stopped, the driver locked his doors and rolled up his windows, refusing to surrender, Maddux said.
The man was screaming inside the car as officers tried to get him out of the vehicle.
A Bisbee police officer also was seen reaching in through a slim window opening to open the car's driver's side door.
A Cochise County sheriff's deputy shot out the passenger-side window of the Suburban with his duty revolver to gain entrance into the Suburban, Maddux said.
"We could not get in and he was driving toward officers," Maddux said.
Once the man was pulled from the vehicle, it took numerous officers to bring him under control, he said.
"He came out and fought with us at the scene," Maddux said.
The incident is under investigation. Maddux said the unidentified man was not talking to authorities early Tuesday evening.
"He's not giving a lot of information," he said.
Because of the discovered marijuana, The Drug Enforcement Agency is handling the case.
Maddux said the man will likely be charged with some drug crimes and for trying to hit officers with his vehicle.
HERALD/REVIEW reporter Michael Maresh can be reached at 432-2231. Reporter Michael Sullivan contributed to this report.
