Driver evades officers; passenger jailed on drug charges

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Johnny Sendejo

Contingent on an indictment from a Frio County grand jury, a Pearsall man is facing two first-degree felony charges after he allegedly led deputies on a high-speed chase near Ted Flores Elementary School earlier this month.
Frio County deputies say a corporal attempted to initiate a traffic stop near the intersection of Peach and Trinity streets on Thursday, March 7, around 3:30 p.m.
The driver, whose name is currently being withheld, did not comply with the deputy’s orders to stop, prompting the deputy to activate his siren. A pursuit ensued when the driver sped away from the deputy after briefly stopping the SUV on Alabama Street.
The officer’s report indicates the suspect accelerated from the scene when the deputy stepped out of his patrol vehicle.
The suspect continued to evade the deputy by traveling over 50 miles per hour through residential neighborhoods, officers said.
According to the report on the case, the driver stopped the SUV at the intersection of San Marcos and Soto streets and fled on foot through a drainage culvert.
Officers approached the vehicle and found that a passenger identified as 49-year-old Johnny Sendejo had remained in the SUV. Deputies questioned Sendejo and noted that he was providing them with several conflicting stories regarding his activities.
Suspicious of the passenger’s behavior and aware that the driver remained at large, deputies examined the vehicle and discovered 29 grams of cocaine and $500 in US currency.
Sendejo, a Lubbock native, was arrested and transported to the Frio County Jail without further incident and is charged with a first-degree felony for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance.
The sheriff’s office is expecting to bring the driver into custody and charge him in relation to the case.