Over the past week, the Cottonwood Police Department has been investigating a crime involving a suspect who, over four or five years, had allegedly sexually victimized a younger family member.
Cottonwood police did not release the name of the suspect.
On Friday, July 7, as detectives were completing the investigation, the suspect left his residence, and police attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
The suspect failed to stop and led police in a pursuit.
Based on the severity of the charges and other aggravating factors, officers determined that the suspect posed a danger to victims, witnesses and the community and continued the pursuit.
According to at least one witness, the suspect vehicle, a white extended cab pickup truck, was seen heading northeast on State Route 89A our of Cottonwood toward Sedona at 12:21 p.m.
The truck then turned around, heading southwest, when it turned left onto Cornville Road and was caught on video by the same witness at 12:33 p.m.
The fleeing suspect eventually got onto Interstate 17.
The truck was eventually disabled on I-17 north of Cordes Junction by Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers and Cottonwood Police Department officers using stop sticks and vehicle immobilization techniques.
Once the pursuit had been terminated, the suspect reportedly barricaded himself inside the vehicle.
Cottonwood police negotiators contracted the suspect on his cell phone. They worked on getting him to surrender while SWAT officers used less-lethal means to extract the suspect.
While the suspect was barricaded, he attempted to take his own life by cutting himself.
He was eventually taken into custody and flown to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center with a critical self-inflicted wound.
Once the suspect is released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Yavapai County Detention Center, in Camp Verde, on numerous felony charges for the alleged sexual misconduct and pursuit-related charges.
