Four arrested after leading Nebraska troopers on separate pursuits

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Four people were arrested within 24 hours this week in separate chases with troopers across Nebraska.

The first chase started Wednesday around 2 p.m., when a trooper saw a Chevy Equinox going over 100 mph on Highway 75 near downtown Omaha.

The trooper tried to pull over the vehicle, but the driver kept going, the Nebraska State Patrol said.

After the driver fled into a neighborhood, the trooper stopped pursuing.

But later on, the trooper found and arrested the driver — 34-year-old Leeza Johnson — near 24th Street and Redick Avenue.

Now to Hamilton County, where a trooper pulled over a speeding Kia Sorento on Interstate 80 near Giltner around 7:15 p.m.

During the stop, the trooper smelled marijuana, according to the patrol.

The driver, 31-year-old Santino Raphael-Hopkins of Cleveland, ran into a nearby field.  The vehicle’s other occupant, a pregnant woman, stayed in the car.

Troopers searched the area using a dog and a thermal drone.  Eventually, they found Raphael-Hopkins at a truck stop near Aurora.

Inside the vehicle, troopers discovered several drugs, including 3 pounds of psilocybin mushroom products and 10 pounds of marijuana products, the patrol said.

Raphael-Hopkins was arrested on suspicion of several drug-related charges and obstructing a peace officer.

On Thursday around 12:30 a.m., a trooper pulled over a Mazda 6 for having defective lights near Wahoo on Highway 92, the patrol said.

The driver — an 18-year-old man — picked up a gun but put it down immediately when the trooper ordered him to do so, according to the patrol.

He started to get out of the vehicle but quickly reentered and sped off at over 100 mph.

The driver crashed at the Platte River bridge and ran away.  Authorities found him hiding in a nearby garage, the patrol said.

He was arrested on suspicion of several charges, including criminal trespass and obstructing a peace officer.

About an hour later, the patrol learned that authorities in Kansas were pursuing a stolen Mercury Milan that was heading toward Nebraska on Highway 281.

Webster County sheriff’s deputies found the vehicle and started chasing after it.  A trooper joined the pursuit in Franklin County.

The vehicle eventually came to a halt after a Harlan County deputy set up stop sticks near the county line.

The driver, 19-year-old Silas Cooper of North Carolina, ran away.  But authorities used a thermal drone and a dog to find him.

He was arrested on suspicion of several charges, including flight to avoid arrest and theft by unlawful taking.

SEE ALSO: Hickman man arrested after high-speed pursuit ends in Lincoln, patrol says