Two women arrested at gunpoint following chase

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 16-mile police chase that began in southwest Houston Tuesday came to a dramatic end as officers with guns drawn surrounded the vehicle, after a pickup blocked the driver's way.

Authorities started pursuing the suspects at about 3:30pm in the area of W. Bellfort and Gessner following a shooting during a domestic dispute at an apartment complex on Airport Road. A driver in a black sedan led police onto eastbound lanes of Beltway at speeds between 85 and 95mph. The suspects' vehicle then did a U-turn and went westbound for several miles.

The driver stayed on the feeder road before doing another U-turn, going eastbound along the Beltway 8 feeder. A set of spikes were thrown out for a third time, and the suspects' vehicle hit them, slow downing the car down.

But it was just before 4pm that a red pickup truck blocked the car and helped bring the chase to an end on the eastbound lanes of the Beltway near Telephone Road.

"I was kinda of scared because he probably would shoot 'cause he had dark-tinted windows, I couldn't see who was there," said 19-year-old Hugo Vargas, the driver of the red pickup truck.

Officers immediately surrounded the black sedan with guns drawn. A female passenger exited the car and ordered to the ground before she was cuffed. The driver, who is also a woman, was then pulled out of the car as well and handcuffed.

The driver, who identified herself to Eyewitness News as Mechelle Murillo, is claiming she didn't know police were chasing her.

"Initially, when they first got behind me, it was around me and he circled around. I didn't know they was coming for me, so I turned down the street -- I U-turned down going toward the Beltway," she told Eyewitness News. "Then all of the sudden, I see a bunch of police officers behind me ... and I'm like what the hell?"

Police also thanked Vargas for his help.

"He said, 'Are you scared?' I was like 'Yes I'm scared. Too many guns around me.' He said 'Thanks for everything. We were following them for 15 miles back,' and I was like oh OK," Vargas said.

Both women were taken into custody without further incident as officers searched the vehicle. Brown paper bags were placed on their hands to preserve any possible evidence of gunpowder residue.

"Right now, we're looking for a weapon that may or may have not been thrown from the vehicle. We're actually waiting for the crime scene investigators to come out here to do the trace metal on the hands. We're also going to take the vehicle down to have it check out," one officer at the scene said.

A weapon still hasn't been found.

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