Caltrops dropped during drug chase near La Joya

LA JOYA — Two men dropped caltrops along Highway 83 as they evaded police during a pursuit early Thursday morning.

La Joya police attempted to pull over a Ford F-150 along Farm-to-Market Road 2221 about 7:40 a.m. Thursday. The truck’s driver turned around and went south before heading west along Highway 83, said officer Joe Cantu, a department spokesman.

The truck veered south along Sam Fordyce Road, where the driver and passenger eventually bailed and swam across the Rio Grande to Mexico.

Several dozen caltrops — devices consisting of several metal points designed to have one point project upward no matter how the caltrop lands — were dropped along the westbound lanes of the highway, police said.

Officers discovered marijuana bundles weighing a total of 191 pounds stashed in the bed and cab of the truck, which was equipped with special wiring to turn off the brake lights.

“This vehicle was very well-equipped for narcotics or dope running,” Cantu said.

Police recovered two of the caltrops and suspect the rest landed in the median or ditch along the road. Texas Department of Transportation workers inspected the roadway, which is believed to be cleared of the tire hazards, Cantu said.

The combination of the road spikes and Thursday morning’s dense fog made for a difficult pursuit, he said.

Suspected smugglers have deployed the caltrops locally in recent months as a tool to deflate tires during drug chases. Neither of the two La Joya police units that pursued the smugglers were affected by the caltrops, but Cantu thought a U.S. Border Patrol unit’s tires were damaged.

The spikes recovered Thursday appear to have been fashioned by welding together cement nails, Cantu said.

“Someone was ingenious at putting these things together, because they are very effective,” he said.

____

Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.