Man with felony warrant refuses to stop

By Jon Johnson, Assistant Editor

What should have been an ordinary traffic stop turned into a dangerous high-speed chase that engulfed the city of Safford Thursday night when a man with a felony warrant would not pull over for police. Safford Police originally attempted to pull over Gilbert Felix Bejarano, 26, of Central for speeding, but he incurred many more charges as he fled, leading police on a chase that ran all over the city.

According to officer Sherri O’Neal, Bejarano was traveling at speeds between 70 and 80 mph while traversing residential neighborhoods and new construction subdivisions.

Officer O’Neal said Bejarano barely missed running over two people as he fled, one being a 7-year-old boy. O’Neal stated Bejarano also almost hit the vehicle she and Detective P.J. Allred were traveling in head-on as well.

Officers surmised Bejarano was running because he had a felony warrant for his arrest.

Bejarano bailed out of the green 2002 Oldsmobile he was driving when he reached a dead end off 25th Street near Cherry Point. He then ran off through the Highland Canal and into the desert.

Crowds of people gathered outside of their homes or pulled their cars over to watch the action unfold in the hills above Glenn Meadows as scores of officers scoured the desert for the fugitive.

Officers from the Graham County Sheriff’s Office joined Thatcher and Safford Police the search for Bejarano. He was found by Safford officers, hiding in the brush near the canal.

He then claimed he wasn’t driving the car which prompted a complete search of the area. Police were unable to locate any other suspects and learned from witnesses that Bejarano was the only one scene in the vehicle.

Bejarano was charged with unlawful flight from law enforcement, two counts of endangerment, reckless driving, aggressive driving, criminal speed and his warrant. He was then booked into the Graham County Jail.

Possible DUI charges are pending test results of his urine.