An improper lane change landed an 18-year-old Odessa man in the Ector County jail early Wednesday morning on evading and drug charges.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, an officer saw Joel Ray Duarte change lanes behind him without using his turn signal in the 1500 block of East 42nd Street. Duarte was seen moving from the inside lane to the outside lane, making a U-turn and turning onto Permian Drive.
The officer followed Duarte’s Dodge Challenger onto Permian Drive and activated his lights and sirens, but Duarte continued to travel on Permian and other residential streets at a high rate of speed, the report stated. The officer saw Duarte turn off and then a big dust cloud at the intersection of East Everglade and Locust avenues.
According to the report, Duarte hit a curb and drove through the front yard of a home in the 1400 block of East Everglade and it appeared to the officer as though Duarte had lost control of the car and almost hit a fence.
The officer found vape cartridges containing THC in the car and Duarte told the officer he got nervous when he spotted him and was trying to get home when he lost control of the car because he was traveling so fast, the report stated.
Duarte was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest with a vehicle and possession of a controlled substance 1-4 grams, both third-degree felonies punishable by two to 10 years in prison. He was also arrested on suspicion of reckless driving.
Duarte remains in the Ector County jail on surety bonds totaling $11,000.
