Suspect calls news station during high-speed police chase
HOUSTON, Texas -- A woman on the run from police called our sister station ABC13 in Houston during a high-speed chase and was advised to pull over and surrender peacefully. The pursuit that lasted more than 40 minutes came to an end while the driver was still on the phone with ABC13.
The chase began in Willis, Texas and came to an end in the Heights area. The Department of Public Safety and several other local agencies joined in the pursuit, which reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
The caller identified herself as Jessica Latrese Chatman, 37. A law enforcement officer advised ABC13 that Chatman was wanted on a felony warrant, but did not elaborate.
Chatman told ABC13 she was running from police because she was afraid of being arrested and in fear for her life. As law enforcement provided guidance on another line, ABC13 Managing Editor Julie Griffin spoke with Chatman and tried to calm her fears.
"She called and she said, 'I'm the woman that police are chasing, your chopper is over me. I'm not going to stop. They tried to kill me in Montgomery County,'" Griffin recalled. "I tried to explain to her that she needed to pull over so she didn't hurt anyone else on the road."
Griffin advised Chatman to pull over, show her hands and get out of the car to surrender to police.
The chase ended soon thereafter in a parking lot. Chatman pulled over, and amid a crowd of officers with guns drawn, she surrendered to police.
