Suspect in deadly I-10 pursuit identified, was hauling $2.5 million worth of drugs, officials say

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A man who led Louisiana State Police on a high-speed chase down Interstate 10 was eventually shot and killed when the pursuit reached the Baton Rouge city limits late Thursday evening, December 8. LSP officials identified the suspect as Jose Reza-Navarro, 52, of Spring, Texas, the next day.

State Police confirmed details originally reported by the WAFB I-Team that the out-of-state suspect was hauling 83 kilograms of drugs believed to be cocaine. LSP officials said that much cocaine has a street value of $2.5 million.

The pursuit began on I-10 near the Iberville-West Baton Rouge parish line around 10 p.m. Thursday night and ended near the Washington Street exit on the eastbound side of the interstate.

LSP officials said a trooper attempted to pull Reza-Navarro over for an undisclosed traffic violation. Reza-Navarro sped off, hitting several other cars along the way, they added. State Police backed off from the chase because of the danger to other drivers. The trooper later found Reza-Navarro’s suburban wrecked on the interstate.

“Reza-Navarro was observed leaving the scene on foot,” Louisiana State Police said in a news release “For reasons still under investigation, a Trooper discharged his firearm shortly after coming into contact with Reza-Navarro,” the release said.

Several state troopers were part of the incident and their body and dashboard cameras captured much of the pursuit and the deadly gunfire that ended it, sources told WAFB.

Louisiana State Police plan to publicly release excerpts of those videos “within a few weeks” to show the public more about what unfolded, one source said. No law enforcement officers were hurt.

Blue lights lit up the interstate for nearly six hours following the shooting, as police processed the scene. It cleared just before 6 a.m. Friday.

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