A man accused of attacking his sister with a knife then stealing her car is in the Pima County jail on $1 million bond and is awaiting transfer to the Cochise County jail.
Timothy Vernon Clark, 40, was arrested on suspicion of 15 felonies stemming from an incident Saturday night that began in Cochise County and ended up outside Sonoita. They include: charges of domestic violence, motor vehicle theft and reckless driving, said said Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department.
Just before 4 p.m. Saturday, Cochise sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a domestic dispute involving siblings just outside the town of Cochise, Capas said. Clark and his sister were sitting in her Ford Focus station wagon when investigators say Clark cut her with a knife. She got out of the and Clark drove off. The sister was treated at the scene for her injuries.
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Officers from the Benson Police Department spotted the car on the outskirts of town at about 4:15 p.m., but when they tried to make a traffic stop, Clark sped away, driving west on Interstate 10. Officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety joined the pursuit. Once the chase crossed into Pima County, local sheriff’s deputies joined in as well, Capas said.
Road spikes were laid across the interstate near the Sonoita exit. Two of the station wagon’s tires were punctured, but Clark kept driving, turning south on Arizona 83. He was finally stopped near Milepost 55 at around 5:30 p.m. after a second set of spikes across the highway flattened the other two tires. The highway was closed for several hours while members of the Pima County Regional SWAT team tried to coax Clark from the car.
“He refused to get out of the vehicle and it was unknown what types of weapons he had inside of the vehicle so the Pima County Sheriff’s Department responded,” Capas said.
“He had a knife and had threatened to kill himself,” said Deputy Dawn Barkman, spokeswoman for the department.
Just after 7 p.m., a dog from the Pima sheriff’s K-9 unit was sent into the car to encourage Clark to surrender.
“The guy was fighting him,” Barkman said of the police dog, which was was sent into the car twice before Clark gave himself up.
Clark, who stands about 6-foot-5, and weighs 300 pounds, was taken to a Tucson hospital where he was treated for dog bites before he was taken to jail, Barkman said.
