News

Actions

DPS: Phoenix man captured after running out of gas in stolen car

Posted at 2:09 PM, Mar 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-21 20:51:50-04

Rule #1: Don't run out of gas when driving a stolen car.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety reports that on March 13 a DPS service unit was assisting a car that ran out of gas on Interstate 17 near 19th Avenue. The service unit pushed the Volkswagen Jetta off the freeway, but it was soon discovered that the car had been reported stolen the month before.

When a DPS officer arrived, the driver of the stolen car, 19-year-old Diego Antonio Herrera, ran across the road, was tazed unsuccessfully, before climbing a razor-wired fence and entering a residential area that was under construction. 

Police say Herrera ran across an area where workers were pouring a concrete walkway, before entering the attic of a home under construction.

DPS located Herrera who came out of the attic after DPS threatened to send a K-9 after him.

Herrera has been charged with car theft and criminal damage. Workers tell police the concrete walkway was a complete loss totaling $6,000 in damages.