Constable Cheatwood Reports Arrest of Suspect Following Pursuit

February 16, 2023 - Shelby County Constable for Precinct 3, Roy Cheatwood, reports the arrest of Aaron Conner Brazzel, 25, following an extensive chase which ended in Louisiana on February 11, 2023.

According to Constable Cheatwood, the vehicle involved in the pursuit had been reported to the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Department as stolen from a place of business there, and the owner of the 2004 GMC Yukon contacted Constable Cheatwood about the incident in the event the vehicle was on the Texas side.

After being informed of the theft, Constable Cheatwood had a suspicion of who had taken the vehicle and he requested the assistance of Taylor Fanguy, Constable Precinct 4, to assist him in the event the vehicle was located.

A family member of the vehicle owner contacted Cheatwood and reported seeing the vehicle on Truitt Cemetery Road off State Highway 7 East. As the officers commenced to searching area roadways, Constable Cheatwood requested the assistance of Shelby County Deputy Jake Gross in searching for the vehicle.

Constable Cheatwood was searching the area in the vicinity of the baseball fields located off State Highway 7 East when he pulled into the parking lot of the complex. At that time Cheatwood believes he and the suspect both spotted each other, and as he activated his emergency lights to attempt to stop the vehicle, the pursuit began.

With Constable Cheatwood engaging the driver to pull over, the chase began to travel CR 3193 where it connected to FM 139 and Deputy Gross joined in the pursuit on FM 139 to State Highway 7 where the vehicles then continued down U.S. Highway 84 traveling toward Logansport. The line of vehicles then traveled U.S. 84 through Logansport to Bogle Road and connected to Old Mansfield Road where the pursuit then headed back toward Logansport Bridge and onto Louisiana 764 to Louisiana 765 and then to State Line Road for around two miles before the more than 13 mile pursuit finally came to an end, when the vehicle crashed and flipped.

After confirming the driver was ok, Deputy Gross deployed an Asp baton and broke the window to help get him out of the vehicle.

DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Department and Louisiana State Police arrived and took over the scene. The driver was then transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in Mansfield where he was later released and arrested by the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Department. According to Constable Cheatwood, upon questioning Brazzel he admitted to taking the vehicle and DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Department charged him with theft of a motor vehicle, felony; and fugitive from justice, felony. According to jail information, he is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Constable Cheatwood intends to seek charges against Brazzel for evading arrest or detention with a motor vehicle, state jail felony. He encourages residents to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings, remember to remove keys from vehicles, lock doors and if something seems suspicious call law enforcement authorities.

According to Constable Cheatwood, the GMC is owned by Daniel Lawson and was used for flower deliveries in his business, which now will be impacted negatively by the loss of his vehicle.

Cheatwood stated this was the 60th vehicle recovered through his office since he's been in office. He expressed gratitude to Shelby County Deputy Jake Gross, Constable Taylor Fanguy, Constable Josh Tipton, DeSoto Parish Sheriff's Department and the Louisiana State Police for their assistance.