A slow-speed police pursuit that witnesses watched wind through Cheyenne streets Monday evening began on the golf course at Cheyenne Country Club.
Cheyenne police report that they were called to the country club at about 5 p.m. for a report of a truck driving on the golf course.
As officers arrived, police say the blue GMC Sierra drove through a fence and left the course. Officers tried to stop it, but the driver, identified as 48-year-old Gust Martinez Jr. of Lakewood, Colorado, refused to pull over.
He didn't exactly speed away, either.
Instead, police say Martinez crawled at a slow rate of speed, beginning a slow pursuit that witnesses described as a strange procession of patrol vehicles following a pickup crawling through Cheyenne.
‘Maybe 15-20 MPH’
Paige Leigh had just left work on Thomes Avenue at about 5:25 p.m. and was approaching Carey Avenue from West 24th Street when she saw the dark blue pickup coming slowly down Carey.
The pickup turned left in front of her onto 24th.
An unmarked tan police vehicle then entered the intersection as Leigh's light turned green, forcing her to slam on her brakes, she said.
Leigh watched the pickup continue another block or so before switching lanes and moving into the left lane. A block or two later, it turned left onto Central Avenue.
By then, Leigh estimated at least five police vehicles were following, with several others moving around surrounding blocks.
The pickup itself wasn't racing away.
“He was moving maybe 15-20 mph,” Leigh told Cowboy State Daily.
At first, the unusual driving made her wonder whether she was watching an elderly confused driver or someone having a medical emergency.
“Before he switched lanes, I thought perhaps it was an older confused person or a medical emergency,” she said. “But as the driver continued, it was obviously not the case.”
Police said Martinez drove south on Randall Avenue during the pursuit and was reckless despite the low speeds, at times driving on the wrong side of the road and running red lights.
Video from the area shows multiple law enforcement vehicles with emergency lights moving through Cheyenne streets amid regular traffic during the pursuit.
‘He Just Kept Going’
Cheyenne resident Kendra Kelsch saw another portion of the pursuit from her home off West 24th Street.
Kelsch said it was around 5:30 p.m. when she began hearing sirens and noticed motorists pulling over.
Her youngest son was outside riding his scooter, so Kelsch went outside to get him back into the yard.
That's when she saw the blue pickup coming down the street with what she described as “a whole slew” of police behind it.
“There was no speed about it, really,” Kelsch told Cowboy State Daily.
The speed limit in the area is 30 mph, she said, and the pickup didn't appear to be breaking it.
“There is no way he was exceeding 30,” she said.
Kelsch could hear officers using a loudspeaker, repeatedly telling the driver to pull over.
“He just kept going,” she said.
From her yard, Kelsch watched the pickup continue down 24th toward Snyder Avenue. She said it appeared to make a large loop through the area before eventually ending up around Pioneer Avenue, where she could see still more police activity.
“There were cops honestly driving faster than he was by my house,” Kelsch said.
‘Kind Of Calm’
Alan Christoffersen caught another piece of the pursuit from his home along Snyder Avenue.
He was outside putting a cover on his motorcycle when he heard several police sirens.
Looking up, Christoffersen saw a blue crew-cab Chevrolet pickup coming north on Snyder with what he estimated were about six law enforcement vehicles behind it from the Cheyenne Police Department, Laramie County Sheriff’s Office and Wyoming Highway Patrol.
Some officers appeared to be racing ahead on neighboring streets in an effort to cut the pickup off, he said.
The pickup, meanwhile, continued well below the speed limit.
“That’s what was kind of abnormal about it to me,” Christoffersen said.
He also got a look at the man behind the wheel as the pickup passed.
“He was just chilling back, sitting back in his truck in his seat, like an everyday driver,” Christoffersen said, adding that the driver didn't appear nervous.
“He looked kind of calm to me,” he said.
Christoffersen continued following the pursuit on a police scanner, where he said he heard reports of felony property destruction and officers preparing to deploy spike strips.
Fighting The Cops
The slow chase finally ended at West 25th Street and Pioneer Avenue, police said, when Martinez stopped the pickup.
Getting him out of the truck didn't immediately end the confrontation.
Police report that Martinez “continued to actively resist and fight with officers” until they were able to take him into custody.
Officers then searched the Sierra and reported finding a rifle with a modified stock inside.
Martinez is a previously convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing a firearm, police said.
He was booked into the Laramie County Jail on 10 charges: felony destruction of property, fleeing or eluding, reckless endangering, felon in possession of a firearm, failure to maintain a lane, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to stop at a red light, driving the wrong direction on a one-way street, no vehicle registration and interference with a peace officer.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
