Benson, AZ- On September 2, 2015, an Arizona State Trooper made a traffic stop on a white Dodge pickup at milepost 275 eastbound on I-10 for no license plate. The Trooper made contact with the female driver who refused to give any of her information. The Trooper called for backup at which point the driver stated she wasn’t “waiting around.” The driver then fled the traffic stop and a pursuit ensued. At milepost 299 on eastbound I-10, Troopers successfully deployed a tire deflation device on two tires of the vehicle and the vehicle came to a stop. The driver refused all commands to exit the truck and barricaded herself inside.

DPS SWAT and EOD were called to the scene and used their robot to make contact with the driver. The driver surrendered and was taken into custody just before 9:30 p.m.

Both eastbound and westbound lanes were shut down for the duration of the incident. The roadway was reopened just before 10:00 p.m. DPS Detectives with the Cochise Narcotics Squad were called to assist. Detectives were able to identify the driver as 64-year-old Valerie Jean Olmstead of Henderson, Nevada. Olmstead is being charged with one count of unlawful flight and five counts of endangerment, all of which are felonies.   back...