By Scott Goldstein
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — Mesquite police chased a car theft suspect into Dallas and fired shots into the pickup he was driving as he plowed into an officer’s cruiser on a dead-end street near downtown Dallas late Monday, police said.
David Lee Patterson, 38, was not shot and suffered only minor injuries, Mesquite police Lt. Steve Callarman said. No officers were hurt.
Mr. Patterson was being held at the Mesquite city jail early Tuesday and was expected to be charged with numerous crimes, including aggravated assault on a public servant, Lt. Callarman said.
According to police, shortly before 11 p.m. a pickup was reported stolen from a gas station near Interstate 20 and St. Augustine Drive in Dallas. Mesquite police began pursuing the vehicle a few minutes later near Highway 80 and Town East Boulevard in Mesquite.
About 11:15, Mr. Patterson drove the white pickup northeast on Bryan Street near North Central Expressway. As he neared a dead end, he drove onto a sidewalk before ramming a Mesquite police cruiser in the 3100 block of Bryan Street.
“The officer, who was in fear for his life, fired shots at the suspect,” Lt. Callarman said. “The suspect wrecked out, but he was not hit.”
The bullet-riddled pickup came to rest against an apartment building. It remained there hours after the shooting early Tuesday as Dallas investigators examined the scene.
Rebecca Montgomery was on the patio of her first-floor apartment when the truck turned onto Bryan Street.
“I just saw this car just barreling down,” she said. “I looked down, and all of a sudden I saw the crash happen.”
Seconds later, she heard several gunshots, she said.
“I just ran inside.”
Copyright 2008 The Dallas Morning News