FORT WORTH -- Dramatic dash camera video from Fort Worth police shows a high-speed, pedal-to-the-metal chase that ended up with two North Texans in federal custody.
Windell Briggs and DeShea Thornton were arrested in January, according to a federal criminal complaint.
But only this week did Fort Worth police release video from a 20 mile long pursuit that shows Briggs and Thornton dangerously weaving in and out of traffic while blowing through red lights.
The complaint details how the two suspects were observed using a "fishing device" to illegally steal mail from a post office site in north Fort Worth. Postal inspectors had the location under observation as part of a sting.
When an inspector tried to pull over their car late on the night of January 13, the complaint says Briggs and Thornton took off.
Eventually, ten Fort Worth officers joined in a pursuit that lasted nearly 20 minutes as the pair zipped through city streets and onto freeways.
Local attorney Alex Kim, who has defended his fair share of criminal that fled from police, say usually there is a reason behind it.
"Whether they have prior felony convictions, or if they're on parole, these are all factors that go into someone running away," says Kim.
A criminal background check for Briggs and Thornton shows past arrests for offenses like assault, drug possession, theft and DWI.
Court documents say the pair were "whitewashing" checks they got through the mail scheme, as well as committing credit card fraud.
Briggs admitted to also fleecing mailboxes in North Richland Hills and on Camp Bowie Blvd. stretching back to October, per the complaint.
Federal mail theft is a felony.
FW mail theft complaint by wfaachannel8 on Scribd