The purchase of a vehicle is usually straight forward. But when officers from the Great Bend Police Department are asked to check and see if a car is stolen before the purchase, the driver of the vehicle fled the scene at a high rate of speed at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, from Love’s Country Store, 1221 10th.
According to the GBPD. when the reporting party who wished to purchase the vehicle arrived at Love’s, he spoke with the driver of the car. The driver asked him to go into a nearby van in order to complete the transaction.
But, when the driver of the Cadillac saw the officer, he left the area at a high rate of speed, a GBPD release said. Another officer was in the area and also observed the Cadillac.
Although the officer wasn’t yet sure what was going on in the parking lot of the gas station, he quickly determined that he had probable cause to stop the vehicle for illegally tinted windows and exceeding the speed limit, the release said.
When the officer activated his lights and sirens to stop the car, the driver fled going eastbound on U.S. 56. The police supervisor on duty terminated the pursuit because of the potential danger to the public exceeded the need to immediately apprehend the subject.
Officers did, however, find two men inside the van that the reporting party had been asked to enter. Oscar Perez and Sergio Gomez, the occupants of the van, were not overly cooperative with police, the release said. They insisted that they didn’t know the person who was driving the Cadillac or have anything to do with him.
The Cadillac that fled from officers was located in the county the next day and impounded by the Barton County Sheriff’s Office. The case has been handed off to the Great Bend Police Department’s Detective Division, which is attempting to locate the driver of the vehicle and working to develop charges against the other participants.
Officers suspect that some form of foul play was afoot, the release noted. However, Perez and Gomez were released on scene, due to the fact that probable cause did not exist for their arrest.
“The internet has made it very easy for people to conduct business online, but it has also made it easier for criminals to prey on the innocent,” Chief Cliff Couch said. “We encourage people to be cautious any time they are meeting up with someone to conduct a transaction. It’s always best to meet during the day if possible, in a safe place.”
The Police Department encourages people to utilize the parking area in front of the Police Department, or similar public areas, for transactions.