HOUSTON – The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrested a man they said hid inside a home for hours after leading officers on a chase once he was suspected of stealing car parts Thursday.
According to deputies, the chase started in Harris County in The Heights area around 1 p.m. and lasted about 40 miles.
The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Reece Crisp, then stopped at a home located at 13910 County Road 185 in Brazoria County, went inside, and refused to come out.
“We attempted to negotiate him out of the house. He didn’t want to come out of the house. SRT team deployed gas inside the resident, suspect still didn’t come out, so the SRT team entered the residence after several hours and found him hiding in the attic,” Brazoria County Sheriff Bo Stallman said.
“Brazoria County SWAT did an excellent job,” said HPD Commander Alvaro Guzman. “They got him out. Nobody was injured. Nobody was hurt. [The] person was taken into custody, and we can continue the investigation.”
Crisp reportedly has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2005, according to court records.
Authorities said a woman was also seen on the property attempting to get into the house before deputies denied her entry. She reportedly had a small child with her also, deputies said. Crisp’s connection to the house was still unclear as of Thursday night.
Police said they believe Crisp had just stolen some catalytic convertors before the chase started. The motorcycle he was on also appeared to be stolen, per HPD.
”He got on the freeway, obviously came down 288. He was going at high rates of speed, so we pulled back and our air support was able to maintain visual on him, which followed him to this residence, which is where we ended up taking him into custody,” Guzman said.
Crisp also has a warrant out of Santa Fe, deputies said. He has since been charged with felony evading arrest. He was expected to be booked into the Brazoria County Jail Thursday night.
Authorities said there’s been an increase in criminals stealing catalytic converters. They believe the car parts are particularly appealing to criminals who resell them for a major payout because of how easy it is to take.
“It takes a matter of minutes, and then it’s the minerals they get and sell to a third party,” HPD Commandor Alvaro Guzman said.