Police chase, standoff outside Arlington school ends peacefully
ARLINGTON, Texas - A high speed police chase and standoff in front of the Ferguson Education Center in Arlington ended peacefully Wednesday afternoon.
Video from SKY 4 showed the suspect, DeShawn Maurice Moffett, with his hands in the air as a SWAT vehicle closed in on his SUV. He was quickly handcuffed and loaded into a squad car.
The incident began just before noon when the man allegedly robbed a Bank of America branch in Colleyville, located about a block away from the town’s police department, around 11:40 a.m.
Moffett reportedly handed tellers a note that demanded money and claimed he was armed.
Officers followed the suspect’s black SUV from Euless to Grand Prairie and back to Arlington.
At times the chase reached high speeds, but Grand Prairie officers were able to spike the SUV’s tires along Highway 360 and Camp Wisdom Road.
The vehicle came to a stop right outside the old Ferguson Junior High campus, which now houses the New Comer Center and Venture High School for students in grades 7-12.
The Arlington Independent School District confirmed the school was on lockdown and parents were warned to stay away.
Police also blocked off the surrounding streets as they tried to convince the man to surrender. Officers had their guns drawn on the SUV until he finally came out around 1:40 p.m.
"Even though we train for the worst, this is the resolution we want to try for -- him to come out and be taken into custody in the way that he did," said Arlington Lt. Chris Cook.
Moffett is being held on three outstanding theft warrants -- two from Collin County and one from Dallas County.
Sarah Durian and her friends are struggling to understand why Moffett, their friend and neighbor, is the same man police say robbed a bank and led officers on a multi-city car chase.
"We hate to believe that it's him, ‘cause we never would have thought he would have done something like that at all,” said Durian. “He's definitely is a good person. He used to come over all the time and bring us food.”
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