Chase ends in Odessan's arrest
Dec. 6—A 44-year-old Odessa man is facing two felony charges after leading Ector County Sheriff's deputies on a chase.
According to an Ector County Sheriff's Office report released Monday, an ECSO deputy began pursuing a vehicle on North Tripp Nov. 23 after it almost collided with him head-on. The vehicle blew through the stop sign at Tripp Avenue and 16th Street and another deputy joined the chase, the report stated.
The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole south of Tripp and Third Street, but the driver fled on foot into an open field, the report stated.
At one point, the driver laid down to try to conceal himself, but was found by one of the deputies and stood up, the report stated.
According to the report, the driver, identified as Abel Gomez, was Tased because he repeatedly refused to get back on the ground and when a deputy tried to handcuff him, Gomez punched him in the mouth.
Gomez was handcuffed with the assistance of backup officers who arrived on the scene, the report stated.
Gomez was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest in a motorized vehicle and assault on a peace officer. The latter is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
Gomez remains in the Ector County jail on surety bonds totaling $45,000. He's also being held on a parole violation.
