CLEVELAND — Law enforcement from several west side agencies teamed up to capture a pair of suspects who were wanted for several reckless driving incidents in a borrowed vehicle.
According to a release from the Fairview Park Police Department, officers first reached out to the owner of a black 2024 Chevrolet Trax on March 18 after finding out that the vehicle had fled from a traffic stop in Cleveland. The owner, who lived on Lorain Road in Fairview Park, told police he loaned the Trax to "a male acquaintance" who had not returned the car.
The following day, Fairview Park police received an alert from Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras showing that the missing Chevrolet Trax was driving on Lorain Road. Officers spotted the vehicle turning south onto Wooster Road from Lorain Road and attempted to make a traffic stop as it moved south on Valley Parkway. The Trax fled from police and went east onto Puritas Avenue into Cleveland. Officers terminated the chase "due to the reckless driving of the Trax." (You can watch the pursuit in the player above)
On March 23, Lakewood police located the Trax in its city and tried to stop it. The vehicle apparently fled from that traffic stop, causing property damage in the process.
The Trax was found again on Wednesday as police officers from Fairview Park, Lakewood and Rocky River teamed up with the Westshore Enforcement Bureau's Drug Task Force to locate both the vehicle and its occupants. Using data from the ALPR cameras, officers found the car at the intersection of West 150th Street and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland. Officers kept watch on the car until it was parked and two people exited at an apartment complex near West 147th Street and Lorain Avenue.
After a "brief foot chase," officers took a 29-year-old Brook Park woman and a 41-year-old Cleveland man into custody. The Cleveland man, identified as Benjamin Ruffin, was arrested by the Fairview Park Police Department for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He is being held in jail until he appears in Rocky River Municipal Court on the charge.
The Brook Park woman has been identified as Falesha Durham. She was arrested by Lakewood police on a charge of failure to comply with an officer ordering her to stop.
According to Fairview Park Police Chief Paul Shepard, the investigation is ongoing and more charges may be coming.
"The Fairview Park Police would like to thank and acknowledge the men and women from the assisting agencies who worked so hard to bring these menaces to public safety to justice," Shepard added.