In a daring afternoon operation, Brewster County Sheriff’s deputies, with support from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Alpine Police Department, apprehended a suspect following a high-speed chase that culminated just west of Alpine, Texas.
The incident began in Marathon, where a local establishment reported a theft. The suspect, identified as Justin Gabriel Cristales, brazenly declared, “I won’t be paying for this s___!” before fleeing the scene in a vehicle headed toward Alpine. Despite attempts by law enforcement to stop Cristales using Stop Sticks at the intersection of Highways 67 and 90, he continued to evade capture, maneuvering his vehicle recklessly through traffic and endangering fellow motorists.
The pursuit extended approximately 4 miles west of Alpine where Sheriff Dodson took decisive action, disabling the rear tire of Cristales’ vehicle with a shot from his 1911 pistol. A subsequent deployment of Stop Sticks by a Brewster County deputy neutralized two more tires, effectively bringing the vehicle to a halt after it inadvertently collided with an uninvolved motorist’s vehicle.
Cristales, who was the sole occupant of the fleeing vehicle, was taken into custody and charged with evading arrest with a motor vehicle, a third-degree felony. The occupants of the vehicle struck during Cristales’ final moments of flight were assessed by paramedics at the scene and found to have sustained no serious injuries.
The successful resolution of this dangerous situation was made possible through the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies, including DPS Air Operations, underscoring the critical importance of inter-agency cooperation in maintaining public safety.
Image Credit: Brewster County Sheriff’s Office
