Woman in custody after pursuit through south OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Oklahoma City police have taken one suspect into custody after leading officers on a chase through the city's south side.
Officials attempted to make a stop near NW 23rd & Penn when the suspect, now identified as 27-year-old Maria Violet Castro, fled, initiating a pursuit, according to an Oklahoma City Police Department official.
Castro called 9-1-1 and told a dispatcher that she was just trying to go to a male friend's house.
Castro got on Interstate 44 West. She entered a neighborhood and then passed the east side of Will Rogers World Airport before heading back east along Interstate 240.
As Castro circled the south side of the city, she threw a butcher knife out of the driver side window, police said.
Eventually, Castro hit stop sticks that police laid in a road, then bailed out on foot after her tires blew.
An officer quickly tackled Castro and took her into custody.
Castro was taken to the Oklahoma County Jail. She is accused of felony eluding a police officer.
Police are talking with family members of Castro's to see where she was Thursday, prior to the chase.
Officers are also working to find out if the butcher knife was related to a different crime
Police confirmed Castro does have a history of mental health problems and substance abuse.
Castro did not appear to be under the influence of any substances, but police say she “was having a mental episode.”
It has not yet been revealed why an officer attempted to pull the Castro over, nor why the suspect ran.