Suspects lead agencies in chase after trying to steal car with child inside, police say
A man and a woman led authorities in Denton County in a lengthy pursuit on Friday night after trying to steal a vehicle with a 6-year-old child inside of it, police said.
The chase came to an end when the driver wrecked the car in Gainesville, almost 30 miles away from where the attempted carjacking occurred in Denton, according to Allison Beckwith, a police spokesperson. The two suspects were taken into custody, Beckwith said over the phone on Saturday.
Nathan Bassett, 23, and Amber Campbell, 27, were both arrested on multiple charges, including evading detention with a vehicle, according to jail records. Police later discovered Campbell was wanted out of Colorado for murder, Beckworth said.
Jail records show Campell was charged in Jefferson County, Colorado with first-degree attempted murder, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft.
Bassett was additionally charged with aggravated assault against a public servant and violating a protective order, records show.
A woman called 9-1-1 around 10:50 p.m. Friday to say two individuals entered her car, which her 6-year-old child was inside of, in the 2900 block of West University Drive, Beckwith said. She told police she confronted the pair and they drove away in their own vehicle.
Officers gathered a description of the vehicle and relayed it to other police units, as well as the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, Beckwith said. The vehicle had reportedly fled northbound on I-35.
Deputies from the sheriff’s office located the vehicle and tried to initiate a traffic stop, Beckwith described, but it didn’t stop. They chased the vehicle north for several miles through Cook County, she said. The suspects eventually crashed in Gainesville.
“I do definitely want to highlight this was teamwork between the two agencies — DCSO and us,” Beckwith said.
Chief Frank Dixon tweeted about the incident, as well as a separate overnight incident, on Friday morning, saying, “Great work by all involved to keep our city safe!”
In the other incident, which occurred early Saturday morning, officers arrested a man, Sir Robinson, 23, wanted out of the U.S. Marshals Service for smuggling of persons. They had stopped him for a traffic violation when he began to run away on foot, Dixon said.
The traffic stop occurred around 1:15 a.m. in the 100 block of Avenue A in Denton, inside of a bar district, Beckwith said. Numerous officers were already in the area, she said.
The driver was determined to have a warrant in his name from the U.S. Marshal’s Service on the charge of smuggling of persons, Beckwith said. She couldn’t provide information on the allegations against him.
