WARREN, Mich. – A Warren officer broke his wrist and has a concussion after a man intentionally rammed his police SUV with a stolen Jeep that had methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl inside, authorities said.
Warren police said they were called around 4 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 20) to the 21400 block of Mac Arthur Boulevard. They received reports of someone possibly having a medical emergency in a blue Jeep.
When officers arrived, they said they spoke to Samuel Wilbur, 31, of Okemos, and he appeared to be under the influence of narcotics.
Police chase
Wilbur refused to exit the Jeep and fled from officers, according to authorities. He sped through neighborhood streets and onto westbound 8 Mile Road, officials said.
Police followed Wilbur with their lights and siren activated, but he refused to stop, they said. He drove west in the eastbound lanes of 8 Mile Road before returning to the westbound lanes at Sherwood Avenue, according to police.
In the area of 8 Mile Road and Sherwood Avenue, Wilbur intentionally drove at the passenger side of a marked Warren police SUV that was involved in the chase, authorities said.
Wilbur crashed into the passenger side of the police SUV, causing severe damage to both vehicles, officials said. The officer inside the SUV fractured his left wrist and sustained a concussion from the crash, according to officials.
“The intentional ramming of a police vehicle by the suspect shows the dangers officers face every day when working to protect the community,” Warren police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said. “This suspect’s reckless actions seriously injured an officer, causing him to miss work. I have no doubt that if there were another officer seated in the passenger seat of the police SUV, that officer would have been critically injured or killed due to the suspect’s intentional actions.”
Police continued to chase Wilbur as he fled through several communities, they said. He was finally taken into custody after crashing in a residential area of Detroit, officers said.
Wilbur was not injured.
Here’s video from the police chase:
Charges
Police said they found methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl in Wilbur’s possession.
The Jeep had been recently stolen from Lansing, according to authorities.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office charged Wilbur with:
- Assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation, a 10-year felony.
- Second-degree fleeing a police officer, a 10-year felony.
- Receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle, a five-year felony.
- Resisting/obstructing a police officer causing injury, a four-year felony.
- Possession of methamphetamine, a 10-year felony.
- Possession of heroin, a four-year felony.
- Operating without a license, a 90-day misdemeanor.
He was arraigned at 37th District Court and given a $250,000 bond, cash/surety.
Wilbur has previous convictions for property crimes, theft, and domestic violence, according to records.
The next court date is scheduled for Sept. 6.
