Car chase suspect: I don't regret any of it

Courtesy: New Mexico State Police

Christopher Sharp

A man who said he led police on a 100-mile car chase Sunday claims he was hoping the pursuit would stop when he left Texas and entered New Mexico.

Police said the chase, which started in Amarillo, Texas, early Sunday morning reached speeds of 120 mph. Christopher Sharp, 24, of Lubbock said at least 20 police vehicles chased his 1999 Nissan Maxima into Roosevelt County.

The incident ended without injury about 2 a.m. Sunday near N.M. 202, in northeastern Roosevelt County, after police placed spikes on the road that flattened three of Sharp's tires.

Sharp was charged with aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer. A passenger, Toni Rodriguez, 21, also of Lubbock, was charged with accessory to aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, according to a New Mexico State Police press release.

Both were booked into the Roosevelt County Detention Center Sunday morning and were released that afternoon on $5,000 cash surety bonds, according to a Roosevelt County Detention Center officer.

"I don't regret any of it," Sharp said Monday night, claiming he decided to run because he didn't have a driver's license or an ID on him. "It was more about getting away. I floored it the whole way."

Sharp was contacted through his Facebook account, which included comments about the chase.

New Mexico State Police Capt. Jimmy Glascock said Sharp's motive to run is consistent with a statement he gave the arresting officer, but Glascock added Sharp told the officer he thought he was wanted for a burglary as well.

Glascock said police have not determined if there is a warrant for Sharp's arrest.

Sharp said he was in Amarillo when police attempted to pull him over.

"I didn't want the cops to pull me over," Sharp said. "I lost the first cops. We figured we'd go across state lines and hopefully they wouldn't follow us."

Texas Highway Patrol officers advised police lost sight of Sharp near Umbarger, Texas, but soon picked him up again as he continued west on U.S. 60.

The chase ended just two miles shy of U.S. 70 on N.M. 202, about 10 miles east of Portales, police said.

Sharp, in the telephone interview, taunted law officers, claiming they let him go even after finding a gun and drugs in his vehicle.

"We didn't even see a judge," Sharp said. "They didn't take no fingerprints, no backgrounds or anything; funniest laws I've ever seen in my life."

Glascock said the investigation remains open and confirmed Sharp's claim that investigators found a gun in the vehicle and an item consistent with drug paraphernalia, but he said no charges have been filed in connection with those findings.

"I'll have to see how those were handled in that particular case," Glascock said. "If we have an ongoing investigation, he can still be charged with additional crimes."

The police press release said charges are pending in Texas.

"Had it not been for the skilled training of the deployment of stop sticks by State Police, this pursuit could have ended in dire consequences," the police press release said. "The fleeing felons may have escaped, or an innocent motorist could've been struck, being severely injured or killed."