Police Get Into Car Chase Near Ross/Mirror & Amarillo Blvd

Amarillo Police officers got a little more than expected on a call last night.  Officers were responding to a call of a "suspicious vehicle possibly involved in a drug deal" at La Kiva Motel.  As police pulled up, the suspect pulled out.  And so, the car chase began off I-40 and Ross, to Mirror and Amarillo Blvd and beyond.

The suspect hit the I-40 access road and turned on Ross heading south and then, he turned his headlights off while crossing the Ross/Mirror Connector.

At that point, officers ended the pursuit for the safety of the public.  When you have some jack-hole driving around at night, running from the cops with his headlights off, there's some serious risk there!

Officers located the suspect a short time later, driving with headlights on.  They tried to stop the driver again, but he had better things to do and refused to pull over.  Then the cops broke out the spike strip!  They laid it down and were able to spike the vehicle’s tires on Ridgemere.

This dude was persistent!  He continued to drive on damaged tires, but the DPS helicopter got involved and monitored the vehicle as it was going west on NE 3rd.

The driver continued on NE 3rd before turning back north and eventually stopping in the street in the area of the 900 block of N. Charlotte.  The vehicle was under observation by the helicopter, staffed by a DPS pilot and APD flight officer.  The suspect ran east through the parking lot of some apartments, but officers caught up to him in the foot pursuit.

He was checked by responding paramedics and booked into the Potter County Correctional Center.

The suspect is identified as Francisco Javier Cisneros, a 23 year old of Amarillo.  He was arrested for an outstanding Potter County warrant for sexual assault of a child and evading arrest or detention in a motor vehicle with a previous conviction, which is also a felony.

It all started as a call about a drug deal, but life is ironically funny, no drugs were found.  Also, there were no injuries.