Man leads police on a pursuit after allegedly kidnapping ex-girlfriend in Glendale

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A man is in custody after police say he forced his ex-girlfriend into his truck at knifepoint and led police on a chase throughout Phoenix and Glendale early Thursday morning. On Wednesday, just before midnight, a family member called 911 from a home near 43rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road about a domestic violence incident between a woman and 38-year-old Ryan Allen Oscar Makela. “I need police right now,” the family member said. “He pushed her in a car, and I have a recording of him doing it. And he, one time, threatened to rape me and kill me if she called the police on him.”

Officers say a woman was forced into a truck by Makela, her ex-boyfriend, and he drove off from the house. Officers say as Makela was driving away, he reportedly hit a neighbor’s wall. The family member then told the 911 dispatcher they heard the woman screaming. “So basically what happened was she was screaming and she was like ‘please, please help me,’” the family member said during the call.

With the help of Phoenix police and Arizona Department of Public Safety, Glendale police found Makela’s truck, and a pursuit began around 1 a.m. Makela led officers on a chase along I-10 and I-17 throughout Phoenix and Glendale for over an hour, police say.

Makela sped away, and Glendale police say they used stop sticks to stop his truck, but he continued driving with flat tires. Eventually, one DPS trooper grappled the truck to stop it near 43rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road around 2:30 a.m.

The woman got out of the truck safely and was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Makela was taken into custody and booked on charges of domestic violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault, kidnapping, endangerment and unlawful flight.

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