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Police Find Cocaine, Firearm after Hit and Run Vehicle Pursuit

Just before 12:30 a.m. this morning, San Angelo Police were dispatched to the 400 block of W. Beauregard for the report of a major motor vehicle crash where the driver fled the scene. 

While enroute to the crash, responding Officer R. Mitchell observed a silver passenger car with front-end damage traveling with no headlights, northbound in the 300 block of N. Bryant Blvd.  Officer Mitchell initiated a traffic stop on the 2011 Nissan Versa but the driver failed to stop and a short, low-speed pursuit ensued. 

The pursuit came to an end when the driver, later identified as Stephen Rodriguez, 24, of San Angelo, pulled over in the 3800 block of Armstrong.  Rodriguez and a 21-year-old female passenger were taken into custody and detained.  

During a probable cause search of the vehicle, Officers located a firearm and a canister that contained a substance that field-tested positive for the presence of cocaine. 

Rodriguez and the woman were transported to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation.  Upon Rodriguez’s release, he was transported to the Tom Green County Jail and charged with Evading Arrest Detention with Vehicle, State Jail Felony Possession of Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, and Unlawful Carrying Weapon.  The woman was not charged.  

A crash investigation showed Rodriguez’s vehicle was traveling east on W. Beauregard when it failed to control speed, left the roadway, and subsequently crashed into a highway sign, street light pole, and signal light box.  No other vehicles were involved.  Witnesses at the scene told Officers Rodriguez fled the scene once he learned bystanders called police. 

Rodriguez was issued Citations for No Insurance and Fail to Stop and Give Information Upon Striking a Fixed Object.

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