Dallas Shoplifting Call Leads To Chase & Suspect Shot With Taser On Highway

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Two men are in jail after a wild high-speed chase that ended with one of them being shot with a taser gun while running across lanes of a busy North Texas highway.

Before the police chase there was a call reporting people shoplifting at a Kohl's store in Garland. The men had been identified as the pair suspected of stealing from other North Texas stores.

"Kohl's had put out an internal bulletin to be on the lookout for these guys," explained Officer Mike Hatfield, with the Garland Police Department.

Kohl's employees said one suspect was inside the store while another was outside in a getaway vehicle. When officers arrived at the store they tried to stop the driver of a Ford F-150... to no avail. Police chased the getaway driver first in the vehicle, through Garland and Rowlett, then on foot.

Police say the driver, later identified as 38-year-old Clinton Tyrone Lang, was driving up to 90 miles per hour and going against traffic before he ditched the truck and ran. He tried to escape by dodging vehicles while running across Interstate-30.

Hatfield said the situation was perilous for the suspect and drivers on the road. "To have him going the opposite direction at that time of day is very dangerous. We are very fortunate that nobody was hurt."

(credit: CBSDFW.COM)

With cars speeding by, a Rockwall police officer finally stopped Lang by shooting him with a taser gun – in the middle of traffic. Lang now faces charges for theft and evading arrest.

The second shoplifting suspect, 49-year-old Jimmy Wheeler, who police arrested near the Kohl's store, is charged with theft.

Both suspects will be moved from Garland to the Dallas County Jail later today. They're accused of trying to steal $1,900 worth of clothes from the Kohls store.

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