Burleson police stopped a kidnapping suspect following a vehicle pursuit, bringing a tense chase through the city to an end. The stop capped off a pursuit that drew attention across the North Texas community.
What We Know So Far
According to FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, police responded in Burleson, Texas, at about 7:45 a.m., and officers ultimately brought the kidnapping suspect into custody after the chase.
Separately, the Cleburne Times Review reported on an incident it said began as a road-rage confrontation in Burleson on a recent Tuesday night and escalated into the stabbing and kidnapping of a 17-year-old Itasca girl and her mother. That outlet reported that the suspect, identified as Casey Phillips, was arrested Thursday morning in Hubbard. The Cleburne Times Review further reported that it was the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, rather than Burleson police, that apprehended Phillips, citing Itasca Chief of Police Winson Brewer.
A Pattern Of Kidnapping Cases Near Burleson
Burleson has been the scene of a kidnapping-related pursuit in recent years. In November 2022, a kidnapping suspect was arrested and the victim was safely recovered after a police chase that started in Fort Worth and ended in Burleson, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In that case, officers used a tire-deflation device to flatten a tire on a red 2021 Toyota Camry along Interstate 35 near the Hidden Creek exit, and the victim was identified as 20-year-old Pryscilla Babauta, who had been forced into the car by her ex-boyfriend, 21-year-old Ramel Hawkins Jr.
A statewide Texas CLEAR Alert was activated during that 2022 pursuit, per the Star-Telegram. In February, a statewide CLEAR Alert was issued in a separate Burleson County case, where Anthony Harwell, 35, was arrested and booked into the Burleson County jail on a charge of aggravated kidnapping, as reported by KBTX. Harwell and the victim, a 38-year-old woman, were found and detained that Tuesday morning in the Somerville area of Burleson County.
KBTX reported that Texas Rangers coordinated a law enforcement response along with Burleson County deputies in the February case, which resulted in Harwell's arrest without incident and the safe recovery of the victim.
A suspect was taken into custody after the pursuit.
