January 01, 2013 –
MAYETTA: According to a news release from the Potawatomi Tribal Police Department, this morning Prairie Band Potawatomi Police Officer, Chad Kleppin, attempted to stop a 1999 Honda Civic for a registration violation. The driver failed to yield and led Officer Kleppin on a brief vehicle pursuit to the area of 158th and Q Roads, where the male driver abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Officers from the Prairie Band Potawatomi Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and Kansas Highway Patrol responded to the area to assist in establishing a perimeter and conducting a search for the driver.
Later on, officers located the suspect hiding a short distance away from where the vehicle pursuit ended, where he was taken into custody without incident. An investigation determined that the suspect’s vehicle was reported stolen out of Topeka.
Ben Bob Valdez Jr., 28 of Bakersfield, California was booked into the Jackson County Detention Center on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, and obstructing the legal process.