Police say the suspect, identified as 22-year-old DNice Palm, is also a suspect in an early Thursday morning robbery during which four people were thrown into car trunks. He's charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery and authorities say he could be connected to a string of robberies in west Houston.
According to Crime Stoppers, a tip led police to Palm's whereabouts near the Beltway and Veterans Memorial on Friday afternoon. Soon after, police were involved in the high-speed, 20-minute chase with the dark-colored van Palm was allegedly driving.
The suspect zig-zagged in and out of lanes to get around cars as he headed southbound on the West Beltway. He exited onto the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10, where he continued to weave in and out of traffic, dodging cars.
Then as the suspect neared the West Loop, one of the van's tires blew out, so he pulled over onto the HOV lane and got out of the car. But before police could take him into custody, he ran across the westbound lanes of I-10, sparking a foot chase.
Officers followed the suspect to the other side of the freeway, but then the suspect jumped off the bridge, landed about 10-20 feet below in a median and ran across the feeder road. He climbed a fence and ran into a wooded area near a small neighborhood called Hickory Shadows.
The area is so heavily wooded that SkyEye HD and the HPD helicopter could no longer follow the suspect.
Authorities went home to home and used their K-9 unit in search for Palm. He was eventually found hiding in the closet of an unoccupied home and taken into custody.
Authorities have not yet filed any additional charges against him, but say they are likely coming.
No other details were immediately available.
Stay with Eyewitness News for the latest details.
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices