Sunday, January 6th 2019, 10:17 pm
A suspected copper thief is in the Tulsa County Jail, accused of kidnapping two people during a chase that started in Sand Springs.
The chase ended in a neighborhood near 65th West Avenue and Admiral.
Sand Springs police said Trey Coffee led officers on the chase in a stolen car, and crashed into an innocent person's parked car.
The eight-mile chase reached speeds of 100 miles per hour at one point, and lasted about 10 minutes. Police said two adults were inside the stolen car Coffee was driving.
"They were held against their will in my opinion,” Lt. John Tillman said.
Coffee’s arrest affidavit said one passenger "begged Coffee to stop running from police." Officers said the other passenger opened a door several times during the chase, "contemplating jumping" from the car. That passenger also "grabbed the steering wheel" at one point, trying to end the chase, according to the arrest affidavit.
Officers searched the stolen car Coffee was driving, and said they found about 100 pounds of copper wire.
"We're assuming based on the status of the copper that they had just been out burglarizing somewhere,” Tillman said.
After the crash, Tillman said Coffee ran off and tried breaking into someone's home.
"The biggest fear that I had throughout the pursuit was actually at the end when the driver is trying to kick down somebody's door that he doesn't know,” Tillman said. “That changed the situation dramatically. Thankfully, for him, he listened finally and dropped."
Tillman also said Coffee has never been issued a driver’s license in Oklahoma.
A couple weeks ago the Oklahoma Department of Corrections considered Coffee armed and dangerous, wanted for the department's weekly "Fugitive Friday."
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Tillman said he was working a traffic safety shift Saturday night, specifically looking out for impaired drivers.
Coffee was driving in both lanes and not using his turn signal properly, when the officer tried to pull him over. Instead, Tillman said Coffee took off.
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