ORANGE, Texas — Following a three-hour standoff, an Orange Police Department SWAT team arrested a man police believe is linked to a chase Tuesday morning as well as an early Monday morning smash-and-grab robbery.
Chadwick McMillen was arrested around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night following the standoff at the James Zay Roberts Apartments at 610 Burton Avenue according to Orange Police Department public information officer Nick Medina.
McMillen is currently being held in the Orange County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a weapon on a public servant according to jail records.
His bond has been set at $1 million on the charge.
His bond has not yet been set as of Tuesday morning at 8:45 a.m.
Officers in tactical gear surrounded a building at the apartment complex just before 5 p.m. Tuesday evening.
Police say they believe McMillen was involved in an early-Monday morning smash-and-grab robbery at a convenience store in Orange. They also believe he led them on a high-speed chase Tuesday morning in a truck stolen from a business just across the interstate from the Monday morning robbery.
Police could be heard at the scene trying to contact McMillen, who they say is on parole, by calling out to him on a loudspeaker early in the standoff but they appeared to get no response.
Police did not say what he had been serving prison time for.
Officers evacuated residents from apartments near the apartment where McMillen was holed up.
Officers began shining lights through the windows of the apartment he was barricaded inside of at about 7:40 p.m.
Orange Police standoff ends with arrest of suspect wanted for smash-and-grab and high-speed chase
Just before 8 p.m. SWAT team officers could be seen approaching the apartment.
Officers could then be heard on a loudspeaker telling McMillen to pick up a mobile phone that was in the living room so they could speak to him.
By about 8:20 p.m. a loud boom was heard and smoke could be seen around the apartment before SWAT team officers could be seen entering the apartment.
A few minutes later McMillen was in custody and being led out of the apartment building by officers.
Monday's smash-and-grab
Here's how police believe it all began on Monday.
West Orange Police received a call at about 4 a.m. Monday morning reporting a burglary at the West Orange-Cove CISD transportation building. When officers got to the scene, they discovered an SUV was missing.
Police then notified other law enforcement agencies in the area about the stolen SUV.
Shortly after 5 a.m., police in Orange received a report that an SUV had crashed into the Stateline Valero convenience store.
Surveillance video shows a driver ramming into the store twice. A separate camera from inside the store shows a man walking around, knocking over a display case and grabbing the register full of cash. The driver then fled in the SUV.
Tuesday's chase and crash
A little more than 24 hours later, just across the interstate from the scene of the smash-and-grab robbery, a pickup truck was stolen from Freys Landscape.
The owner, Mark Frey, got an alert from his security system about a break-in at his business along Interstate 10 around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
The suspect tried to shoot a dead bolt lock to break in, but ended up breaking a window to get inside instead Frey told 12News later on Tuesday.
"It hits home, you know, when they come in your business and rifle through your office and your personal things. It's the same as for an entrepreneur, it's the same as them robbing your house. This is our second home," Frey told 12News.
Following the break-in Orange Police officers spotted the stolen truck just over a mile to the east near the Horseman’s Store according to Medina.
The driver then led officers on a chase along the eastbound Interstate 10 service road and through Orange Medina said.
The chase went down Green Ave and ended when the truck crashed into a canal near Cordrey Ave and 16th St he said.
During the chase the driver fired a shotgun at officers several times according to a news release from the Orange Police Department.
The driver ran away from the crash eluding police.
GET NEWS & WEATHER ALERTS | Download the 12News App to your mobile device
CRIME STOPPERS | Submit a tip @ 833Tips.com
CRIME STOPPERS APP | Download the P3 Tips App
If you have information about a crime you could earn a cash reward of up to $1000 by providing an ANONYMOUS tip to Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.
Call 833-TIPS (8477) or download the P3Tips App on your mobile device to submit your tip anonymously.