Twice in the past 72 hours, Dallas police have tracked down a known member of the Aryan Brotherhood, believed to be armed and dangerous, at local motels. Twice, he has managed to get away.
The first encounter came Monday morning at 11:15 a.m. when officers came upon a suspicious-looking black 2011 Toyota Tundra parked at the Garden Inn & Suites on Harry Hines at Walnut Hill.
A check of the plates revealed that the truck belong to a member of the Aryan Brotherhood with a history of assaulting cops and multiple warrants out for his arrest. The pickup itself had also been used in a recent felony and was believed to contain fingerprints that could be used as evidence. DPD spokeswoman Sherri Jeffrey declined to release additional information about the crimes.
Officers parked across the street from the motel to keep an eye on the parking lot's lone exit while they waited for backup. But shortly after calling for help, the Tundra pulled onto Harry Hines and turned south.
They pulled behind the truck and activated the squad car lights, signaling for the driver to pull over. For a second, it seemed the driver was going to comply, slowing down and pulling into a left-hand turn lane. Instead, he hooked a U-turn and floored it in the opposite direction.
They lost sight of the truck as it turned right onto Southwell, but another squad car arrived and spotted the Tundra idling at a red light at the intersection with Denton Drive. The truck was boxed in by cars, or seemed to be, but when the driver saw the newly arrived cop car, he jumped the curb and drove away on the sidewalk. Police followed far enough to watch him turn south on Loop 12 but then were called off the chase.
And that was the end of things, at least until 1:15 this morning, when officers happened to spot a suspicious-looking black 2011 Toyota Tundra at the Red Roof Inn on Central Expressway near Richardson. It was the same truck that had escaped officers two days before. This motel, like the last, had only one exit, and officers kept watch as they tracked down photos so they could ID the suspect. (Jeffrey says it's not clear from reports whether it's the same man who fled previously, though the descriptions are similar).
It wasn't long before the guy in the photographs emerged from a motel room and got into the truck, which was now missing its driver's side window and mirror. They waited until he pulled up to the front gate, then turned on their stoplight and stepped from their squad car and ordered the man to stop and show his hands.
Instead, he threw the truck in reverse, maneuvered around the squad car behind him and over to a locked gate on the opposite side of the motel, and began using his tailgate as a battering ram. The gate gave way, and the Tundra sped through the parking lot of the adjacent Walmart and onto Central Expressway.
Another set of officers tailed him as he headed south and exited Walnut Hill, driving through neighborhoods until another squad car attempted to stop him at University Drive and McFarland.
It didn't work. The driver floored it once again, hitting a curbside pile of trash before speeding away. Officers watched as the Tundra turned onto the Tollway, both taillights dangling. Then, they left.