Two Johnson County men were arrested late Thursday after leading several local police departments on a car chase that ended with a standoff on Interstate 35 near 75th Street.
Master Police Officer Danny Chavez of the Lenexa Police Department said that the incident began as a theft at a QuikTrip located at 12355 W. 95th St.
The Lenexa police department’s calls for service log lists 8:49 p.m. as the time the call was dispatched.
Police have not said what was allegedly taken in the theft or offered an approximate dollar amount for the stolen goods.
“The suspects failed to stop for officers and got onto I-35,” Chavez told the Post in an emailed response to questions Friday. “They eventually came to a stop but refused to get out of the car, whereby creating a standoff.”
Police standoff resulted in I-35 closure
The suspect’s vehicle, a Chevrolet Impala, was brought to a stop on northbound I-35 north of 75th Street in Merriam just before 9 p.m.
Officers from at least eight local law enforcement agencies surrounded the vehicle while trying to get the two suspects out of the car and into custody.
Shawnee and Lenexa officers both responded to the car stop location with armored vehicles, along with K-9 units from at least four departments.
During the standoff on the highway, police closed I-35 going in both directions.
Northbound traffic was stopped just behind the standoff location. Drivers who stopped had no means to exit the highway. One driver told the Post that it took him an hour to make the 5-mile drive from I-435 to 67th Street due to road construction and the standoff.
Police diverted all southbound traffic off the interstate at 67th Street.
East Frontage Road was also closed between 71st and 74th streets.
Both suspects were taken into custody by 9:25 p.m.
Southbound I-35 and East Frontage Road reopened shortly after 9:30 p.m. One lane of northbound I-35 reopened at about the same time.
The remaining lanes of northbound I-35 reopened at about 10 p.m. after two tow trucks removed vehicles from the scene. The suspect vehicle and one Lenexa Police Ford Interceptor were both hauled away by tow trucks.
Police have not said what caused the police vehicle to require a tow truck.
Two Johnson County men booked into jail
According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office online booking logs, the suspects are residents of Lenexa and Shawnee, respectively.
Both suspects were booked into the county jail shortly before midnight Thursday and still await formal charging.
As of 11 a.m. on Friday, a Lenexa man born in 1978 is held on a pending charge of felony interference with a law enforcement officer, and a Shawnee man born in 1980 is jailed on a pending charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
Lenexa Police were assisted in the pursuit and the subsequent standoff by law enforcement personnel and K-9s from Edwardsville, the Kansas Highway Patrol, Merriam, Mission, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee.
Master Police Officer Chavez confirmed that neither the suspects nor any officers reported any injuries.
No other details have been released.
