Police helicopter unit aids in suspects' arrests

2/7/2002

Two pursuits ended in arrests yesterday after the Toledo police helicopter unit directed ground crews to suspects' locations - the first time the unit has participated in vehicle chases, police said.

About 5:35 p.m., a police crew patrolling in the 1700 block of Freeman Street observed a car that had been involved in an unspecified incident earlier. The car fled west on Freeman and zigzagged along nearby streets, ending up in an alley off the 2100 block of Hawthorne Street, where the two suspects abandoned the car.

The helicopter unit watched the suspects as they were running through the yards and directed ground units to their location. The driver was arrested in the 2100 block of Miles Avenue, and the passenger in the 2100 block of Hawthorne.

Just minutes after the first chase, police were dispatched to the In and Out Mart, 242 Key St., where a clerk activated a robbery alarm after two men stole four cases of beer, police said. Wilbur Hughes and Earnest Hughes, brothers who live at 842 Butterfield Dr., were arrested about 5:40 p.m. at their residence after police crews, guided by the helicopter, followed their car.