HOUSTON – Investigators seized 250 pounds of pot and a gun from a vehicle after a high-speed chase through Montgomery and Harris counties Tuesday afternoon.
It started after undercover HPD narcotics officers received a tip about a big drug buy. The officers were tailing a Hyundai Santa Fe when the vehicle made an illegal U-turn at FM 1314 and Timberland around 5:40 p.m.
Montgomery County deputies tried to pull the SUV over, but the driver refused to stop.
Deputies chased the suspects down FM 1314 to Highway 59, at times reaching speeds over 100 mph.
"They started to flee at speeds above 100 miles an hour. I think our top speed was 115, 120," said Senior Sgt. Mike Rogers, with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. "It was to the point that I almost terminated the pursuit."
After 16 minutes, the suspects bailed out of their car in the 1700 block of Saddler in Houston.
Deputies said the two suspects fled in different directions, but with assistance from HPD, both of the suspects were caught.
Investigators said they found the marijuana, worth about $132,000 on the street, and the gun in the suspects’ SUV.
One of the suspects, Jesus Alvarado, 32, was charged with possession of marijuana, evading arrest and felon in possession of a firearm.
The other, Gregorio Ramirez, 23, was charged with possession of marijuana and evading arrest.
Both were being held Wednesday in the Montgomery County Jail.
