The man who led police on a high-speed vehicle pursuit on surface streets in Las Cruces, and along I-25 and I-10, was arrestedThursday evening and is charged with at least two felonies.
Zachary Stephen Reeder, 39, of Marana, Ariz., is charged with one count of aggravated assault on a peace officer and one count of aggravated fleeing or eluding an officer.
On Thursday, July 13, Metro Narcotics agents received information that Reeder was suspected of carjacking an Acura sport utility vehicle in Arizona and the vehicle was possibly in Las Cruces. Agents also learned Reeder might be armed and in possession of narcotics. Metro agents located the vehicle at the Walmart store on south Valley Drive and set up surveillance.
At about 7 p.m. Reeder, with a 28-year-old female passenger, drove out of the parking lot in the Acura. Before the agents could perform a traffic stop on the vehicle, Reeder allegedly rammed an unmarked law enforcement unit and fled north on Valley Drive at a high rate of speed.
Reeder then led officers from the Las Cruces Police Department and New Mexico State Police on a vehicle pursuit along several surface streets in Las Cruces, and along I-25 and I-10. At one point, Reeder drove directly toward an officer at a high rate of speed. On I-10, the Acura plowed through a fence and into a residential neighborhood in south Las Cruces. The pursuit continued along residential roadways and through a pecan orchard just south of Las Cruces.
With officers in pursuit, the vehicle crashed through a telephone pole off Carver Road, near Highway 28, and came to a rest when it struck a pecan tree. Reeder fled the vehicle on foot, leaving behind his passenger. Reeder was taken into custody at about 7:45 p.m. after a brief foot pursuit with officers. Reeder’s passenger remained in the Acura and was also taken into custody.
After executing search warrants on the vehicle Reeder was driving and a nearby hotel room rented by Reeder, investigators found a shotgun, handgun and methamphetamine.
Reeder and his passenger also face federal charges in relation to the pursuit and other incidents. The FBI is conducting its own investigation.
Information from Las Cruces Police