A Missouri attempted carjacking investigation turned into a high-speed pursuit across multiple jurisdictions before the suspect drove through airport fencing, crossed restricted airport property, and was taken into custody near the runway.
Midwest Safety reported that officers with the Columbia Police Department were responding to an attempted carjacking involving a mother and her two children when dispatchers received another call about a second attempted carjacking less than a mile away.
This time, the victim was a 75-year-old man who told police the suspect pulled him out of his car, beat him, and tried to steal the vehicle before the man fought back.
Both victims described a white Buick sedan fleeing the area, according to the channel’s host, and officers soon spotted the vehicle as it appeared to be heading toward Highway 63.
A Mother, Two Children, And A Second Victim
Midwest Safety’s host said the first report involved an attempted carjacking of a mother with her two children still inside the vehicle, which immediately made the call more serious because of the possible risk to the children.
Before officers could fully deal with that scene, another report came in involving an elderly man nearby.
In the bodycam footage, the second victim tells officers he was pulled from his car and beaten.
“He pulled me out of my car and had me out here on the ground beating the crap out of me,” the man says in the footage.
The victim tells police he did not know the suspect and describes him as a Hispanic man. He also says the man tried to get into his car, but he fought back by putting his hands in the suspect’s eyes to keep control of the vehicle.
“I pulled away,” the man tells officers, adding that he believed that action may have saved him.
The victim also says the suspect left his phone behind in the car, a detail that would later become part of the strange trail left behind during the incident.
Witnesses Try To Stop Him
The footage includes another person explaining that he confronted the suspect after seeing what was happening.
The witness says he told the suspect to get out of the vehicle, then grabbed his own gun from his truck and warned him to make the right decision.
“I didn’t put my finger on the trigger or anything like that,” the witness says, explaining that he only displayed the firearm and told the suspect to leave.
The suspect then walked back to his car and drove away, according to the witness, who said he had pictures of the vehicle and its license plate.
That part of the incident shows how quickly ordinary people were pulled into the emergency. The elderly victim was fighting to keep his vehicle, another person was trying to stop the suspect from continuing, and police were working to catch up with a vehicle already linked to two frightening encounters.
It is also a reminder that carjacking attempts do not have to involve a successful theft to be deeply traumatic. A victim can fight back and keep the car, but still be left injured, shaken, and wondering how something like that happened in the middle of the day.
The Chase Reaches Highway Speeds
Midwest Safety reported that officers pursued the suspect for more than 20 miles toward Missouri’s capital city, with speeds exceeding 95 mph.
The bodycam footage captures officers coordinating the pursuit as the suspect moves down the highway, while Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers prepare to deploy spike strips.
One officer calls out that the suspect is traveling around 90 mph, and moments later, troopers hit the vehicle with spikes.
“Got him,” an officer says after the spike strip deployment.
Officers then continue tracking the vehicle as it slows and begins losing control. The footage shows the pursuit becoming more complicated as the suspect leaves the main roadway, goes down a hill, and appears to look for another route.
At one point, officers mention that the driver-side tires are down, but the suspect keeps moving.
The chase had moved from a standard road pursuit into something harder to contain, with officers, troopers, and aircraft trying to follow the vehicle as it left predictable roadways.
“He Turned Onto The Airport Property”
The most unusual part of the pursuit comes when officers realize the suspect has entered airport property.
The bodycam audio captures officers trying to locate him as aircraft overhead tracks the vehicle.
“He turned onto the airport property here,” one officer says. “He’s driving through the grass on the airport property.”
Moments later, officers report that the suspect drove through a fence onto restricted airport property.
Additional radio traffic says the suspect is running across airport grounds, wearing a red shirt and red shorts. Officers then try to find a way around fencing and reach him near the hangars and runway area.
One officer realizes the suspect may be on the runway and directs others toward him.
Airport property adds a different level of risk to any pursuit because restricted areas are built to keep traffic, pedestrians, and unauthorized vehicles away from aircraft operations. Even if no aircraft is immediately in the path, a fleeing vehicle tearing through fencing and grass near a runway creates a dangerous situation that officers have to end quickly.
The suspect eventually gets out of the vehicle and runs, according to the bodycam footage, while officers converge on the area.
Arrest Near The Hangars
After the suspect leaves the car, officers track him near the north corner of the hangars on the west side of the field.
The footage becomes more chaotic as officers move in, coordinate positions, and close the distance on foot.
The suspect is eventually taken into custody, and officers begin trying to sort out who had been leading the pursuit, where their vehicles are, and what the suspect may have thrown during the chase.
One officer says it looked like the suspect threw a large black object or something similar.
The suspect appears tired and possibly intoxicated, and officers note he had vomited in the back of a patrol car.
When asked for his address, he gives a strange answer.
“I drive,” he says.
Officers also connect the events together at the scene, with one of them saying it appeared the suspect had tried one carjacking, failed, and then went to another location to try again.
That comment lines up with the host’s summary that police were dealing with two attempted carjacking reports close together before the pursuit began.
Charges And Plea Deal
Midwest Safety identified the suspect as 30-year-old Jose Lopez.
According to the channel’s narration, Lopez was taken to the Columbia Police Department and later booked, following a grand jury indictment, on charges connected to the first attempted carjacking. Those included vehicle hijacking, two counts of attempted child kidnapping, third-degree attempted kidnapping, and first-degree tampering.
In connection with the second attempted carjacking, the host said Lopez was charged with attempted third-degree assault, modified because the victim was elderly, resisting arrest, and driving without a license as a second offense.
Lopez was denied bail and later entered a not guilty plea, according to Midwest Safety.
The host reported that Lopez spent nearly a year in the Boone County Jail while the case was in pretrial proceedings. In March 2025, he agreed to a plea deal.
Under that agreement, Lopez pleaded guilty to vehicle hijacking, first-degree tampering, third-degree assault, and resisting arrest, while other charges were dropped.
He received a 15-year prison sentence for vehicle hijacking, to run concurrent with his other sentences, and is serving his time at Northeast Correctional Center. Midwest Safety said he will be eligible for release in 2039.
A Pursuit That Could Have Ended Much Worse
The footage shows a case that began with fear in a parking lot or roadway and ended in a place no pursuit should ever go: airport property.
The mother with two children, the 75-year-old man, the witness who intervened, and the officers who followed the suspect down the highway were all pulled into a chain of events that could have caused far more damage than it did.
There is also something notable about how quickly the suspect’s options narrowed once he reached the airport. Spike strips had already damaged the tires, aircraft was overhead, officers were closing in, and the fenced property that may have looked like an escape route only made the situation more serious.
The bodycam footage ends with officers reflecting on the strange finish to the chase, including one remark that the suspect had come to “the wrong airport.”
For the victims, though, the more important outcome was that the suspect was caught, the case moved through court, and Lopez ultimately received a prison sentence for the crimes tied to the failed carjacking spree and pursuit.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
