Standoff leads to arrest

In the end, about 1:40 p.m., officers swarmed his maroon Daewoo on a ramp leading from U.S. 60 to the northbound Loop 101, pulled him out of the vehicle and took him into custody. Police then recovered Miles’ 3-month-old son from the car. The boy was found face-down, semi-conscious and in distress, said Mesa police spokeswoman Holly Hosac.

The standoff backed up westbound traffic on U.S. 60 to at least Gilbert Road while police attempted to capture Miles, who was wanted on a felony child abuse warrant.

His capture was the culmination of events that began with a 12:13 p.m. traffic stop at Signal Butte and Broadway roads, Hosac said. An officer had noticed that the vehicle’s registration was expired.

Miles was initially cooperative during the stop, Hosac said. However as the officer prepared to give him a ticket for the minor violation the officer noticed he was wanted on multiple warrants. When another officer arrived Miles became agitated and uncooperative, Hosac said, and he then fled in the car in which his wife and child were passengers.

For safety reasons, police didn’t begin a pursuit but kept a distance and followed Miles’ vehicle, which traveled west on U.S. 60, Hosac said.

At Val Vista Drive and U.S. 60, Miles stopped and let his 41-year-old wife, whom police haven’t identified, out of the vehicle. He then continued west on the freeway.

A few miles farther west, he lost control of the car and crashed into a freeway barrier, coming to a stop on the entrance ramp to northbound Loop 101, said Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Harold Sanders.

Police converged on the ramp and for 45 minutes attempted to negotiate with Miles, Hosac said.

At one point, Miles got out of the car holding the infant. He was told to put the child down and he placed the boy back in the car.

He then reached into a black bag, made threats and remained uncooperative, Hosac said. According to police, he said multiple times that he didn’t want to return to prison.

“This could have been a more dangerous situation and it ended without anybody being hurt,” she said.

The child was reunited with his mother and taken to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, where Miles also was taken for treatment of minor injuries when he was bitten by the police dog and shocked by the Taser.

A search of the black bag and the car revealed no weapons, Hosac said.

According to authorities, Miles is wanted in Pima County on a child abuse warrant and in Maricopa County on warrants of a felony fraud and a misdemeanor probation violation.

Authorities said they also intend to book Miles on suspicion of child endangerment and resisting arrest.