Suspect Arrested After 2-Hour Manhunt in Anthem
UPDATED 1:05 p.m. — What began as a domestic violence situation turned into a two-hour manhunt for a suspect that had reportedly stolen a vehicle in Anthem Friday morning. The chase, which led to nearby Arroyo Norte and back to Anthem and lasted into the early afternoon, ended when the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department determined the suspect’s identity, then subsequently found him.
Early on, residents in the area were told to keep doors locked and report anyone suspicious. MCSO Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez later said the whole incident turned out to be about domestic violence, not theft.
The suspect had not been armed and was not threatening other residents, Enriquez said. He was just trying to hide.
By 11 a.m., the search centered around Vista Hills Drive, off Gavilan Peak Parkway north of Anthem Way. A sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead and multiple patrol vehicles were on the ground, with deputies out looking in a wash that runs through the area. Two K-9 units were called in to help.
The suspect was later spotted, shirtless, in Arroyo Norte, a community north of Anthem and east of the frontage road along I-17.
At about 11:47 a.m., deputies had a visual on the suspect, running through a wash west of Outer Banks Drive in Anthem, but a deputy reported losing the visual a moment later. Deputies were also watching a tunnel that crosses under I-17 in the area, to make sure the suspect didn’t cross to the west side of the interstate.
“We just arrested him,” Enriquez told North Phoenix News at 1:01 p.m.
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