Police find young kids in car after high-speed chase

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - A man led police on a high-speed chase with two young children in the car early Friday morning.

Grand Prairie police said the chase began when officers tried to make a traffic stop at Belt Line Road and Interstate 20 and the driver refused to pull over. The officers chased his Chrysler 300 for about half an hour.

The suspect, later identified as 30-year-old Devon Howard, finally pulled into the Churchill at Pinnacle Point apartments on N. Cockrell Hill Road. He ran into the complex and an officer went after him.

The officer cornered Howard but the two reportedly got into an altercation. Fortunately, there was a Dallas Police Department helicopter overhead.

The police helicopter was able to land in the parking lot and provide some valuable assistance.

“DPD Air One was really great in that they realized the officer and the suspect began to get into a scuffle. And it was getting to the point where they had to step out and land in the complex and assisted our officer in arresting the suspect,” said Chelsea Kretz, a spokeswoman for the Grand Prairie Police Department.

Howard was arrested and is now facing a variety of charges including felony evading arrest and child endangerment. The car he was driving had been reported stolen, police said.

After the chase ended officers found a woman, a 2-year-old child and an infant in the car. The woman was also taken into custody for outstanding warrants.

The children were not hurt. Their grandmother arrived at the scene to help care for them until they were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.

As a matter of policy, Kretz said had officers known there were children in the fleeing car, they would not have pursued it.