More Fences To Mend

The AZ Republic has an article today about the prosecution of a coyote that was very agressive in his attempts to elude capture:

A man arrested in Gilbert last month after police claim he fled from them with 24 undocumented immigrants in a pickup truck is being prosecuted under a new state law aimed at punishing human smugglers.

There are plenty of witnesses joining the claim that the man fled from the police with a pickup bed full of illegal immigrants; some of those folks riding in the back were slightly injured during the pursuit.

Gilbert police arrested Cecena on Jan. 25 after he raced through the streets of Gilbert in a stolen Ford F-350 pickup truck to escape officers in pursuit and endangered the lives of 25 passengers, police said.

At least 20 undocumented immigrants rode in the truck's bed beneath a camper that was no higher than the roof of the cab.

A 17-year-old boy, who like Cecena is a U.S. citizen from Tucson, was riding in the cab of the truck. There are no charges pending against the teen.

During the 11-minute pursuit that covered nearly nine miles, Cecena ran several red lights, repeatedly drove off-road, burst through fences, reached an estimated speed of 80 mph and drove into oncoming lanes, police said.

The chase started after Cecena tried twice to ram an officer on a motorcycle, police said. Another officer involved in the chase said at one point Cecena slammed on his brakes, causing the officer's vehicle to hit the back of the truck.

Two of the immigrants suffered minor injuries.

The main route of pursuit was down Higley Road; and one of the fences that the truck burst through after leaving the road was in Higley Groves West near where Lexington instersects Higley. They caught the truck farther down Higley; thankfully, he will be prosecuted under several charges. I'm also thankful that the only damage done here was to a fence and the grass; nobody was seriously injured.