Suspect shot by police after high-speed pursuit connected to armed robbery attempt at Pueblo West restaurant
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- New developments in the police chase that ended with a Fountain Police officer shooting a suspect on I-25 in Colorado Springs, Monday afternoon.
According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, it all started with an attempted armed robbery at a Pueblo West fast food restaurant.
Staff at the Dairy Queen in Pueblo West tell KRDO an individual came inside the restaurant and passed a note to the supervisor demanding more than $15,000. Daniel Martinez, a manager at the Dairy Queen, says the individual showed a 'black pistol' to employees of the restaurant.
“I was on the floor and he kept looking at me," said Martinez. "At that time I think he was getting nervous. He was flashing his weapon at us. It was a black pistol, but I'm not too sure what kind. At that time, he was starting to walk out. He drove out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed.”
Deputies responded to the 100 block of Tiffany Drive around 4:30 p.m. Monday on an armed robbery report. The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office says the suspect quickly left the business without any money in a white pickup with U-Haul decals on the side.
A short time later, deputies spotted the suspect’s truck speeding at 100 mph heading north on I-25 and initiated a traffic stop north of Pueblo. The driver pulled over and a man inside exited the truck, while the driver of the vehicle fled north on the interstate.
The man who exited the vehicle, 47-year old Jay Hemphill, was quickly taken into custody. Hemphill was arrested for complicity to commit aggravated robbery.
From there, the unidentified suspect driving the U-Haul truck led law enforcement through El Paso County. According to Lieutenant Jim Sokolik with the Colorado Springs Police Department, officers used spike strips near Garden of the Gods Road to stop the vehicle. Some of the wheels on the suspect's vehicle did pop but it wasn't enough to get them to stop. Sokolik says a CSP Trooper then used what he calls a tactical intervention to stop the car just north of Woodmen road on I-25.
When officers were giving the suspect commands to get out of the vehicle that's when the shooting began. The suspect was hit and taken to the hospital. Their injuries and identity are unknown at this time.
Life-saving measures were being performed on the suspect. No law enforcement officers were injured.
The officer who fired and hit the suspect is with the Fountain Police Department and they have been placed on administrative leave.
It is unclear if the man who was shot by police on I-25 is the same individual who attempted to rob the Dairy Queen in Pueblo West. Colorado Springs Police have not identified the suspect, and the suspect's health status more than 24 hours after the initial shooting is still unclear at this time.
