Officials say suspect was on 'a meth-induced crime spree'

Officials say suspect was on 'a meth-induced crime spree'

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Story Created: Oct 29, 2009 at 4:11 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 2, 2009 at 12:19 AM MST

By Adam Rodriguez and Michael Calcagno

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GARDEN CITY - Joshua Johnson, 33, had his bail set at $2,000,000 after allegedly leading police on a high speed chase from Garden City to Meridian Thursday. In court Friday, Judge Cathy Irby told Johnson, "The circumstances surrounding your arrest yesterday put this community at significant risk." Police say Johnson held up a Mountain West Bank at 4:59 p.m. Thursday, walking in and handing the teller a note demanding money. Thanks to a good description from bank employees, police say they were able to spot Johnson's car near the branch on State and Glenwood. "That was really key was getting that vehicle description out as opposed to just a person wearing winter type clothing," said Garden City Sgt. Craig Wallace. "The vehicle description helped tremendously." But Johnson refused to pull over, leading Boise, Garden City and Ada County officers on a chase that went as fast as 100 miles per hour. Police say they followed Johnson's stolen Oldsmobile Alero along Chinden Blvd., and finally rammed the car to a stop at the intersection of Eagle and McMillan roads.

 Joshua Johnson
One Garden City Police car, Boise Police car and Ada County Sheriff's car were damaged during the chase. No other vehicles were hit and no one was injured. Johnson went to St. Alphonsus after he complained of neck pain but was later released. He faces seven criminal charges, and Ada County prosecutors say he was already on probation before Thursday night's arrest. Even though the chase took authorities darting in and out of rush-hour traffic, Boise Lt. Tony Plott says the risk of an accident was outweighed by the benefit of ending Johnson's alleged spree. "We had a bank robbery, typically a crime of violence, and people are pretty desperate," Plott said. "The fact that this guy even took off once officers tried to make a traffic stop on him indicated how desperate he was to get away."

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