Man arrested after APS truck stolen on Loop 101

A suspect was in custody after reportedly stealing an Arizona Public Service work truck and running from authorities early Wednesday, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday, an APS worker reported a truck had been hijacked on Loop 101 in the southwest Valley, DPS said.

The stolen truck was located by authorities near South Avondale Boulevard and Lower Buckeye Road and a man was arrested in the backyard of a home near 103rd street and Toronto around 7:30 a.m., authorities said.

The incident began when the driver of the APS service truck saw a car broken down and blocking the northbound travel lane on Loop 101 early Wednesday. The driver stopped to help the motorist, who then threatened the APS worker with a gun and stole their truck, according to Bart Graves, a DPS spokesperson.

"He left the gentleman on the side of the road and took the APS truck down here to Lower Buckeye Road," Graves said.

The man then drove the APS truck into a ditch in a nearby residential neighborhood, before abandoning the truck and fleeing the scene on foot, Graves said. He then ran through the neighborhood, into one home's backyard.

"He entered the backyard first and then made his way into the house," Graves said. "We don't know what his plan was once he entered the house, but he was armed."

The owner of the home heard a helicopter around 6 a.m., then turned on the news to see coverage of the police pursuit in the neighborhood, Graves said.

The homeowner then heard a commotion in his backyard and looked outside to see the man in his backyard, trying to enter the home.

Graves said the homeowner was able to convince the suspect to leave his house without any harm.

"It's nothing short of a miracle that nothing happened there," Graves said.

The 24-year-old man then ran from the home and scaled a total of 24 outdoor block walls on the property of 12 other houses before he was taken into custody while sitting on an outdoor wall of a home, Graves said.

The man was arrested without incident and faces multiple charges.

He was booked into Maricopa County Jail and the investigation remains ongoing. DPS has not released the identity of the man arrested.