Man who allegedly went 130 mph on I-15 after Walgreens robbery makes court appearance
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BLACKFOOT — A 22-year-old California man who is a suspect in an armed robbery at a Pocatello Walgreens appeared in court on Thursday morning.
After allegedly robbing the Pocatello store, Demar Antione Lacy is accused of fleeing from law enforcement and leading them on a high-speed chase with two teenagers in the car.
Lacy was arrested and charged with three felonies in Bingham County, including one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer in a motor vehicle and two counts of injury to a child.
Lacy appeared for his preliminary hearing Thursday in the Bingham County courthouse before Judge James Barrett.
During the hearing, Prosecuting Attorney Jared Anderson called one witness — the corporal who wrote the incident report.
In court, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Lawrence Henrie described what happened on May 20. He said he tried to make a traffic stop near Interstate 15 at milepost 95 in Bingham County after he had learned about an armed robbery and was given a vehicle description.
“About two hours prior, we had a call for a possible attempted robbery of Walgreens in Blackfoot. I arrived on scene and was given a vehicle description of the vehicle leaving the area as well as watched some video footage of two individuals who had come into the store,” Henrie said. “Two different times, they had come into the store that day, and the Walgreens manager had been advised that the armed robbery had just happened in Pocatello, matching the same description of those individuals.”
Henrie said he activated his lights and got behind Lacy. He said it looked like Lacy was going to pull over at exit 93, but Lacy sped up and went southbound on I-15.
“We reached speeds of 120 miles per hour. Then they were weaving in and out of traffic. At one point in time, the traffic was so thick right in that section, that the driver (Lacy) went off the right side of the road into the dirt trying to pass cars on the right side and kind of started fishtailing and almost lost control and came back onto the interstate in front of multiple vehicles, cutting across both lanes,” Henrie said.
The posted speed limit in that part of the interstate is 80 miles per hour.
Henrie said spikes were set up to try and stop Lacy’s vehicle. The vehicle went on the spikes and lost one tire but Lacy continued and accelerated.
“My vehicle only goes up to about 120-125 (mph). I was maxed out. It kept dropping back to 120. I estimated the speed of the vehicle (Lacy’s vehicle) as it was weaving in and out of traffic at about 130,” he said.
He said they continued at that pace for quite a while.
“(After) almost another eight miles, they lost their second tire. When they lost their second tire on the right side, they lost control and started fishtailing again and went off the right side of the road and through a fence right next to the Fort Hall Casino,” he explained.
He said all three people in the vehicle — two juveniles and Lacy — ran toward the casino. Henrie said he and other law enforcement officers went after them.
”As we came across the canal, into the parking lot, I was advising the casino to lock down their doors. I noticed the guy in the tan sweater (Lacy), darted to the left, towards some convex buildings and the other two subjects continued running towards the west side of the casino,” he said.
He asked for backup to get the juveniles while he chased after Lacy. He got to Lacy and ordered him to the ground, where Lacy complied with commands and was placed in handcuffs.
“I had asked him (Lacy) how long he had been in that vehicle that day, and he had said that they had traveled up from Oakland and that three of them … drove all night to get up here. (He) said that they had been in the car the entire day. The only time they had gotten out of the vehicle was when he said he went to a friend’s house for about 45 minutes,” Henrie said.
Public Defender Brianna Rosier requested in court to dismiss the injury to child counts based on a lack of probable cause and material elements.
“There was a significant danger to the children as they were traveling at speeds of over 120, possibly up to 130 miles per hour,” Anderson rebutted.
Judge Barrett, referring to state statute, said he did find probable cause on material elements on all counts.
Lacy is scheduled for an arraignment in Bingham County District Court on June 27 at 1 p.m.
In regards to the Pocatello robbery, a Pocatello Police Department spokeswoman told EastIdahoNews.com this week that Lacy has not been charged in the case but is listed as a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. She said that there were no injuries involved, and the two juveniles were charged with felony robbery.
It’s unclear if any charges will be filed against Lacy in Blackfoot regarding Walgreens.
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