Out of Gas: NHP troopers stop pair in stolen vehicle who attempted to carjack citizen
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 07/25/2018 - 5:01pm
Two were arrested Wednesday morning following a Nevada Highway Patrol stop in which the suspect driver was in a stolen SUV going more than 100 mph before running out of gas and then attempting to steal another vehicle, NHP officials said.
The incident happened at approximately 8:35 a.m., when an NHP trooper observed a white Ford Expedition SUV traveling 100 per hour on US-95 near the junction of State Route 266 south of the town of Goldfield. The posted speed limit on this section of highway is 70 miles per hour.
As the trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver continued traveling northbound on US-95 at a high rate of speed. The trooper was informed that the license plate displayed on the vehicle had been reported as stolen. The suspect vehicle was being driven by a male and there was a female passenger in the vehicle with him, said NHP Trooper Matthew McLaughlin.
As the NHP trooper proceeded northbound, he observed the Expedition was pulled over on the side of the highway behind a tractor/trailer commercial vehicle. It was later learned that the suspect’s Expedition had run out of fuel and became disabled in the travel lane.
Seeing the hazardous situation, the driver of the tractor/trailer stopped to provide assistance, unaware that the two occupants had just fled from the NHP trooper. As the trooper contacted 3 adult individuals, two of them ran toward, and entered, the cab of the tractor. The driver was unable to engage the transmission on the commercial vehicle and exited the tractor, said McLaughlin.
At this time, a citizen in a passenger car stopped to assist the NHP trooper, who he thought was in a precarious position. The two suspects entered the citizen's sedan in an attempt to car jack the vehicle. The NHP trooper detained all of the occupants of the sedan at gun point until additional units responded from NHP and allied agencies, ultimately taking the male and female suspects into custody, said McLaughlin.
It was later determined the white Ford Expedition was stolen from the Goodland, Kansas Regional Medical Center on July 18. The Colorado license plate had been stolen from Colorado Springs. The driver, Matthew G. Ozment, 30, of Missouri, was a wanted fugitive from the state of Missouri. He was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen license plate, resisting, and eluding.
The passenger, Maloree Leigh Ross, 28, of Independence, Missouri was also arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen license plate, resisting, and eluding.
