Video shows arrest of carjacking suspect after high-speed chase across Valley

PHOENIX – A carjacking suspect was arrested after a high-speed chase across the Valley last week, authorities said.

On Tuesday, the Mesa Police Department released body camera and helicopter footage of the chase and arrest.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mesa Police Department (@mesaazpd)

The incident started around 4:30 p.m. Friday with officers responding to a disturbance call at Main Street and Recker Road, where they found a victim with visible head and facial injuries.

He said an unknown man assaulted him and stole his white 2025 Kia K4 sedan. Other witnesses provided police with a description of the suspect.

How did police take carjacking suspect into custody

After a Mesa Police Air Unit helicopter located the car, officers used a Grappler device to try stopping it on the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway.

The Grappler is a device mounted on the front bumper of a patrol car that shoots out a heavy-duty nylon net. Video footage from Friday’s chase shows the car spinning out and hitting the median barrier after the Grappler was deployed. But the device did not secure the vehicle, and it was able to continue down the freeway.

The stolen vehicle fled at speeds of over 100 mph, police said, but the helicopter kept it in sight.

The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Thierry Muhire, stopped at an apartment complex on 40th Street, just south of the Loop 202, in Phoenix. The location was about about 24 miles west of the carjacking site.

Muhire got out and ran off, but the Air Unit directed officers to where he was. He was then taken into custody without incident.

Muhire was booked into jail for robbery, burglary, assault, theft of means of transportation, unlawful flight from law enforcement, reckless driving and probation violation.

Related

At least 1 person hurt after road rage situation turns into shooting in MesaGallego, Kelly urge FAA to revisit Phoenix flight path plans amid noise concernsMan critically injured after being shot, crashing car into an Avondale homeCenter for Biological Diversity sues Arizona Game and Fish over mountain lion hunting rulesCars & Coffee experience starts in downtown Chandler with exotic, classic and luxury vehiclesWoman dies after rollover crash near downtown Phoenix