Suspected illegal alien leads officers on 20-hour manhunt
Man escapes Taser deployment and avoids plane search before getting caught walking across bridge
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

A traffic stop for dark window tint led to a 20-hour manhunt over the Memorial Day weekend as a suspected illegal alien continually slipped through the grasp of area law enforcement officers.

Houston resident Jose Santos avoided airplane surveillance, a dog tracker and even shook off a jolt from a constable's Taser before finally being apprehended crossing the Colorado River bridge in Wharton.

His reason for fleeing officers?

"He told us he was running because he didn't have a driver's license," Precinct 2 Deputy Constable Daryl Maretka said.

Maretka stopped Santos around 1:40 p.m. Friday, May 23 on U.S. 59, near Pumping Plant Road. The window tint on Santos's 1996 Ford Thunderbird was too dark, Maretka said.

"As soon as I pulled over, he (Santos) opened the door to get out. I told him to stay inside," the deputy constable said.

Santos failed to comply, Maretka said. As Santos got out of the car, the deputy constable allegedly noticed something white clutched in his hands.

"I told him to get on the ground. He ran into a cornfield," Maretka said.

The deputy constable pursued, but was unable to catch him. Backup was called and a perimeter set up, with officers from the Wharton Police Department, Wharton County Sheriff's Department, Department of Public Safety, Precinct 2 Constable's office and El Campo Police Department participating.

As an airplane - operated by a private citizen - searched from the sky, a tracking dog from the Eagle Lake Police Department worked on the ground level.

Maretka's K-9 partner, Jodie, was unable to assist with the search. The dog, which was put into service just over a month ago, has not yet been trained in tracking, Maretka said. It currently serves as a narcotics search dog. Law enforcement officials established a perimeter around a large cornfield near the site where the traffic stop occurred. Their efforts proved futile.

"There's a lot of territory there. He (Santos) was able to elude us," Lt. Daniel Marek of the Sheriff's Department said.

The search was eventually called off. But Marek remained in the area in an unmarked car, just in case Santos reappeared from his hiding spot. Maretka also continued to patrol the area, heading down FM 961.

It wasn't long before an area resident drove up next to the deputy constable to inform him that a "suspicious subject" had been seen walking around a nearby hayfield. The man matched Santos's description, Maretka said.

The chase was on again as Maretka and Marek spotted Santos in a field off the south side of FM 961. Maretka began a foot pursuit, getting close enough to fire his Taser. The probes made contact, striking Santos in the back, but the wires broke as he pulled away.

He reportedly continued to run, leading Maretka through another cornfield near CR 457.

Then Santos disappeared once again.

Just before 10 p.m. Friday, he resurfaced. Sheriff's Department Deputy Robin Rodriguez saw him near Business 59 and Loop 183. Despite back up from Wharton police, Santos would once again escape.

It was not until the next morning that Santos's luck would finally run out. Around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Marek, who was off duty, was driving down Loop 183 on his way to the Wharton County Farmers Market.

As he neared the Colorado River Bridge, he made a startling discovery.

"Lo and behold, there he (Santos) is, trying to walk across the bridge," Marek said.

Marek notified Sheriff's Department Sgt. Marc Tijerina, who was nearby. As Tijerina pulled up, Santos again tried to sprint away.

A brief foot chase ensued, with Tijerina suffering minor injuries due to a fall.

Once close enough, Tijerina deployed his Taser.

"That brought him (Santos) down," Marek said.

Santos was booked at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 24. His charges included assault of a public servant (for conduct that resulted in Tijerina getting hurt), one felony count of evading arrest, three misdemeanor counts of evading arrest, no driver's license and failure to maintain financial responsibility and immigration hold. Offi- cials said Santos may have been in this country illegally.

He was also charged with tampering with physical evidence. Officers were unable to retrieve the white material that Santos allegedly was holding in his hands when he was first stopped.

"He ran with what we believe was contraband from the car," Marek said.

Santos was held on $35,500 bond as of Tuesday morning.