STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – The Sterling Heights Police Department hosted a news conference Friday morning during which they described a gun battle that led to wild chase earlier this week.
- Watch here: Dashcam video from Macomb County police chase
- Watch the full news conference here:
Video showed police chasing a Ford Fusion on Tuesday morning through parts of Macomb County and into a neighborhood on Detroit's east side. The pursuit, which reached speeds of more than 100 mph, turned into a foot chase when two people ran from the Fusion. One of them was taken into custody while the other remains on the loose.
However, police have three people in custody now: two drivers and a passenger from one of the vehicles involved in the chase. Anthony Dwayne Brown, the driver of the Fusion, and passenger Marcino Cartier Lattner were arraigned Thursday on charges.
A third person identified as Brandon Hubert, who was driving a Dodge Durango involved in the chase, was taken into custody Thursday night, police said, and is expected to be arraigned on charges Friday. Police said he was alone in the Durango.
Watch the chase video here:
Watch an extended cut of the dashcam video here:
What happened
Sterling Heights police said it all started about 7 a.m. Tuesday when they received a report of shots fired between a Dodge Durango and a Ford Fusion near the intersection of Hall Road and M-53 in Utica. Officers located the Dodge as it was pursuing the Ford.
According to authorities, Lattner jumped out of the Ford, and when police ran after him, he stole their running patrol car and radioed dispatchers for help.
"They're trying to kill me," Lattner said over the police radio. "I need to get to the hospital."
The pursuit ended near I-94 and 12 Mile Road, when a Macomb County Sheriff's Department patrol car struck the stolen Sterling Heights patrol vehicle. No injuries were reported.
Warren police located the Ford on Van Dyke Avenue into Detroit. Police were able to take Brown into custody when two people fled the vehicle when it stopped on Nashville Street between Gunston Avenue and Elmo Street in Detroit. As stated, the second passenger who fled the Ford is still being sought by police.
Brown, from Saint Clair Shores, has been charged with fleeing and eluding police and Lattner, from Westland, has been charged with fleeing and eluding police, assaulting a police officer, unlawful driving away in an automobile and malicious destruction of police property.
Hubert is expected to face charges including fleeing and eluding third-degree, firearm discharge from a vehicle and felony firearm.
Police describe dangerous 'rolling gun battle'
Sterling Heights Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski said this was a dangerous gun battle that his officers were responding to.
"It took us a day worth of going through videos, multiple 911 calls from people saying there were two cars on M-59, 'they're chasing each other and one guy has his hand out the window shooting at another car.' So we had a rolling gun battle down the middle of M-59," said the chief.
He described the moments after the man stole the running police vehicle in a neighborhood.
"We had people leaving to go to work. We had a gentleman taking his trash cans out to the curb while people are armed after a gun fight down M-59," he said. "Our officers' first priority was to make sure we get this guy into custody. Unfortunately he was able run around a house, get into our car which was running. As the car attempted to leave, our officer knew that there was going to be another chase if the vehicle left that scene, the officer discharged one round into the rear tire of the vehicle, trying to disable the vehicle."
Dwojakowski said the vehicle still took off after the officer shot out a rear tire. Macomb County Sheriff's Deputies later stopped the vehicle by striking it near I-94 and 12 Mile Road.
Police did not arrest the driver of the Durango until they went through video and phone call audios to determine his role in the shooting.
Altercation started in Utica
Police are still trying to figure out what prompted the shooting. They believe all of the suspects first were engaged in an altercation in Utica before taking it to the streets.
"This started up in Utica (at a condo complex), north of M-59. There was some altercation between all parties -- we still don't have the entire story on that. And from that altercation all parties jumped in their cars, took off from the scene and then the rolling gun battle occurred down M-59, both eastbound and westbound on M-59," said the chief.
Dwojakowski said multiple 911 callers said they saw gunfire being exchanged between the vehicles. Police have not recovered the weapons.
"I don't know what they did with them, but when we got them into custody there were no firearms," he said.