By By BEN RAYMOND LODE / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Officers from Niles Township Police Department were involved in a high-speed vehicle pursuit Tuesday night that ended in Granger, Ind.
The suspects, driving a stolen vehicle, were never apprehended. Speeds during the chase reached up to 120 miles per hour, reported a press release from the Niles Township Police Department.
Officers said at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, officers from the Niles City Police Department were dispatched to Martin's Supermarket on South 11th Street.
Dispatch reported a white female was allegedly attempting to exchange stolen property.
A supermarket security officer followed the female to a vehicle in the parking lot after she had allegedly failed to exchange the stolen property.
The vehicle, a 1999 black Jeep Cherokee Sport, driven by an unknown male, then left and travelled south bound on South 11th Street.
A Niles Township Police officer observed the vehicle at South 11th Street, near Fulkerson Road, and attempted to make a traffic stop.
The driver of the Jeep allegedly accelerated and refused to stop.
The Jeep continued south bound on South 11th Street into Indiana at alleged speeds of about 120 mph.
The vehicle pursuit ended in the Quail Ridge South subdivision near Granger, Ind., where both suspects fled on foot from the vehicle.
The suspects were tracked by the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department K-9.
The Jeep was later confirmed stolen out of Elkhart County, Ind., on June 9.
The vehicle was secured and will be processed by crime technicians for fingerprints and other evidence that may link the suspects to this incident.
Assisting in the incident were the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department, Ind., Niles City Police Department and Berrien County Sheriff's Department.
Officers are currently working with several agencies in identifying the suspects involved and said this morning they are confident their identity will be obtained if they fail to turn themselves in to authorities.
A St. Joseph County, Ind., Sheriff's Department police officer said as of 9:50 a.m. today, the suspects remain at large.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident are asked to call the Niles Township Police Department at (269) 683-1780.
In other police reports:
A township police press release said when officers arrived, a woman and her 13-year-old son allegedly had been assaulted by the woman's live-in boyfriend.
Keith Kovach., 35, of 2735 Paul St., Niles, allegedly disconnected the telephone and pulled the phone line from the receiver before fleeing the home.
Kovach was apprehended after police searched wooded areas near the home. He was arrested pending charges for two accounts of domestic violence, resisting arrest, obstructing police officers and disconnecting communications device (telephone) during a domestic violence assault.
Kovack was booked in the Niles City jail without bond.
Michigan State Police, Niles, Post 53, assisted in the arrest of Kovach.