DPS pursuit down the Beeline Highway from Sunflower ends in Mesa -two suspects in hospital face multiple charges

DPS, Mesa Police stop vehicle as it enters populated area of Mesa

The driver of a vehicle involved in a high speed pursuit southbound on the Beeline Highway Tuesday morning, July 19, will be booked into the 4th Avenue Jail on two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, felony flight and aggravated DUI - after she is released from the hospital.

According to a report from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Melanie Denise Vest, 32, of Salt River Indian Community swerved to attempt to run over a DPS officer deploying 'Stop Sticks' and later a Mesa Police Officer also deploying 'Stop Sticks'. A DPS press release states that officers attempted to stop the vehicle, a mini van, on southbound Highway 87 (the Beeline Highway) near Sunflower. The driver refused to pull over and a pursuit continued while the driver threw beer cans out the window.

A passenger in the vehicle, Eric Johnson Vest, 29, also of the Salt River Indian Community, is in the hospital, reportedly after officers with the Mesa Police Department had to employ the use of force (tasers) to subdue the two. Vest faces charges stemming from an outstanding warrant for a shoplifting charge.

During the pursuit from Sunflower to Mesa a Phoenix Police Firebird Helicopter followed the pair until the vehicle was stopped as it entered a populated area of Mesa at Mesa Drive and Inglewood. At that point, DPS officers backed off and Mesa Police took over, tasering both subjects when they refused to cooperate with arresting officers.