Pinal County Sheriff's deputies arrested a couple Thursday following a high-speed chase involving a stolen vehicle, authorities said.
Steven Mullenax, 32, and Laura Stricker, 29, were booked into custody on multiple charges after the stolen truck they were driving crashed into an irrigation ditch at the end of the chase, according to a post on the Pinal County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.
At about 6 a.m., a deputy attempted a traffic stop on a 2007 Chevy Silverado, after observing several traffic violations and discovering that the vehicle had been reported stolen. The driver fled at a high rate of speed, finally stopping after making an evasive maneuver to avoid hitting 'stop sticks' that deputies deployed.
The truck came to a stop in an irrigation ditch and Mullenax got out of the car and ran away, fighting with deputies before he was eventually arrested. He was booked into the Pinal County jail in connection with the stolen vehicle, felony flight, reckless driving, resisting arrest, endangerment, probation violation, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of prescription medication without a prescription, the post said.
Stricker, the passenger, stayed in the truck after it crashed and told deputies she had been sleeping in the car because she was tired from smoking meth earlier. She said that Mullenax woke her up during the pursuit, and that she knew the vehicle was stolen.
Stricker was booked into jail in connection with the stolen vehicle, paraphernalia and possession of prescription medications without a prescription.
