Shoplifting suspect arrested after hitting 2 Peoria officers with vehicle
Sep 27, 2020, 2:00 PM
(MCSO Photo)
PHOENIX – A shoplifting suspect was arrested Saturday after hitting two Peoria police officers with his vehicle while attempting to escape, according to authorities.
Peoria police arrested 40-year-old Gabriel Brandin after he eluded officers several times following the incident.
Officers responded to a Walmart near Lake Pleasant Parkway and Deer Valley Road around 7 p.m. after an employee reported a male suspect concealing items while he was inside the store.
When officers arrived and attempted to take Brandin into custody, he resisted and was able to enter his vehicle, start the car and put it into reverse with the vehicle doors open, striking the two officers, according to authorities.
The suspect fled and was located by an officer near 99th Avenue and Beardsley Road who attempted to make a traffic stop, but the suspect fled at an excessive rate of speed and the officer did not pursue the vehicle.
An air unit was able to locate the vehicle and follow it near 99th and Glendale avenues. Officers in the area were able to locate Brandin and take him into custody without further incident.
He was processed at the Peoria Police Department and was later booked into the 4th Avenue Jail on charges that include aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, unlawful flight, endangerment, shoplifting, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence, according to authorities.
The two officers who were struck by the vehicle sustained minor injuries and were evaluated by Peoria Fire-Medical at the original scene.
The investigation is ongoing.