Suspect Identified In Overnight Chase
Thursday, Indiana State Troopers were working a multi-jurisdictional criminal patrol in Lake County when officers from several agencies received information of a wanted vehicle in the vicinity of Burr St. and 29th Ave. in Gary, according to Sgt. Glen Fifield.
The vehicle had reportedly been used in an armed robbery on Wednesday, March 30th, and had fled from officers in Illinois earlier on Thursday. The vehicle was located by a Griffith police officer and as that officer attempted a traffic stop, the vehicle fled. The pursuit continued onto I-80 westbound where a trooper, who’s also a K9 unit, intercepted the vehicle and attempted to slow the suspect vehicle by driving in front of it. The suspect eventually passed the trooper and drove off the roadway into the right ditch to avoid stop sticks. During this driving maneuver, the suspect vehicle struck the passenger side of the trooper car. The K9 was in the car; however, he was not injured during the crash.
The vehicle continued to travel west at a reduced rate of speed when a Lake County Sheriff’s car attempted to “pit” the suspect vehicle. A “Pit Maneuver” is a means of using another vehicle to tactically disable the fleeing vehicle, and a way to end the pursuit safely to protect other citizens. During this act, the suspect vehicle struck stop sticks that were on the roadway. This caused the vehicles tires to flatten, but the suspect refused to stop and continued in his attempt to elude officers. The pursuit exited I-80 onto Calumet Ave. where it went north to 175th where the suspect quickly exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Troopers gave chase and were able to take him into custody not far from the abandoned vehicle.
The suspect has been identified as Carldale DeAngelo Hunter, 32, from Hammond, IN. He is currently being held at the Lake County Jail where he is being held without bond. Mr. Hunter is preliminarily charged with the following offenses in Lake County:
- Resisting law enforcement with a vehicle- Level 6 Felony
- Resisting law enforcement while creating a substantial risk to others (officers deploying stop stick, civilian traffic, driving off road in residential area, disregard for the general public’s safety with his aggressive driving.) – Level 6 Felony
- Criminal recklessness when the defendant committed aggressive driving- Level 6 Felony
- Resisting law enforcement (on foot) – Class A Misdemeanor
- Criminal recklessness – Class B Misdemeanor
- Leaving the scene of an accident – Class B Misdemeanor
- Reckless driving – Class C Misdemeanor
- Reckless driving- Class C Misdemeanor
- Aggressive driving (committed 4 violations of aggressive driving statute) – Class A Misdemeanor
Mr. Hunter was also issued nine citations because of his actions during the pursuit, Fifield said. It was later discovered that Mr. Hunter had an outstanding warrant with full extrication for parole violation from a robbery sentence.
This pursuit and arrest were the culmination of effort from several law enforcement agencies to include the following: Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Griffith Police Department, Gary Police Department, Munster Police Department, Hammond Police Department, Highland Police Department, Dyer Police Department, Schererville Police Department and Winfield Police Department.
