PARACHUTE, Colo. — Two men were arrested following a multi-state high-speed chase that reached speeds of up to 140 mph and involved a crash with a police officer's vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit for one of the suspects from the Parachute Police Department (PPD).
Andre Watkins faces 10 different charges related to the incident.
An officer with PPD was notified about the vehicle shortly before 5 p.m. on April 22 by a deputy with the DeBeque Marshall's office. The officer was told that a white Camaro with a California license plate had been traveling on Interstate 70 in Utah at speeds of more than 140 mph and continued to do so after it entered into Mesa County, Colorado, the affidavit says.
Colorado State Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle and followed it briefly, but terminated a chase. The DeBeque Deputy asked PPD to be on the lookout for the vehicle as they suspected it might need to stop for fuel soon in that area.
A PPD officer spotted the vehicle and eventually saw it pull into a Phillips 66 Gas station at 28 Cardinal Way. The officer pulled in front of the vehicle in an attempt to prevent the driver from leaving. He said as he did that, the driver accelerated toward him and narrowly missed hitting his vehicle and the fuel pumps, the affidavit says.
The officer followed the vehicle and witnessed the driver run red lights and stop signs and said at one point he was driving on top of the yellow line separating the two lanes of traffic, according to the affidavit.
As the driver attempted to do a u-turn, the officer said he lost control due to his speed and slid off the road and then began driving straight toward the officer and his vehicle, the affidavit says.
The officer attempted to get out of the way but the vehicle's collided. Both vehicles were still driveable and the pursuit continued until it reached speeds of about 140 mph on I-70, the affidavit says. At that point, the PPD officer said his vehicle could no longer keep up.
He continued to listen to radio traffic of the pursuit along I-70 as it went through numerous jurisdictions all the way into Eagle County, where it is believed the suspects ran out of gas, the affidavit says.
The driver, identified as Andre Watkins and his passenger, Randy Miller ran from the vehicle, the affidavit says. Both were taken into custody after being confronted at gunpoint.
In their car, officers found "three large garbage bags" that contained a "green leafy substance" which smelled like marijuana, the affidavit says. Small green tablets believed to be ecstasy were also found in the car, according to the document.
Following his arrest, the affidavit says, Watkins admitted to "his share" of the drugs, which he said amounted to 20 pounds of the drugs that were inside the vehicle.
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