KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — A chase with a suspected vehicle thief ended after a manhunt in rural Kalamazoo County Tuesday afternoon.
The chase began in the city of Kalamazoo when an officer spotted the stolen vehicle, a white SUV, and tried to pull the driver over.
Sheriff Rick Fuller said the chase ended when the driver turned onto a dead end dirt road just off Interstate 94 and south of Galesburg along 35th Street. The driver was forced to abandon the SUV when he ran out of road.
He said the suspect endangered lives during the chase.
Kalamazoo County dispatch sent out automated calls to area homeowners, telling them to “shelter in place” because an armed fugitive was in the area.
With the help of officers and tracking dogs from Kalamazoo Public Safety and the Michigan State Police, the suspect was eventually taken into custody and lodged in the Kalamazoo County Jail.
For now, he is being held for the stolen vehicle and fleeing and eluding.
