Sedona Police Department officers responded at 8:51 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, regarding a suspicious person, later identified as Nathan Andrew Nichols, a 28-year-old transient, who threw a chair into the window of a residence in the 200 block of Northview Road in West Sedona, allegedly attempting to break into the home. In the process he was reportedly cut and bleeding.

He fled this residence and went to a different home.

At 9:03 p.m. dispatch reported a trespassing call in the 100 block of Northview Road, after homeowners reported that Nichols entered the the second home through an unlocked door. The homeowners reportedly tried to keep him calm by giving him water. According to police, Nichols reportedly started accusing them of trying to poison him with it. As he left, he reportedly told them he was going to Bashas’.

SPD officers arrived on the scene of the calls and cleared the area, but were unable to locate Nichols.

A third call came at 9:25 p.m. Inside Bashas’, Nichols allegedly hit a woman in the face then took a bottle of bourbon off the shelf and smashed it on the floor. He was told repeatedly by management to leave the store.

“I was on my way to exit the store,” Canadian visitor Marie LeBlanc said. “I was at the exit that was closed and the guy walked that direction. He looked at me. I passed him to go to the other exit, and he continued to the exit he was asked not to use. I could see the distress in his eyes. I can still see the distress in his eyes. Like he was asking for help through his eyes. He made some motion with his face. Then all of a sudden as I turned my back to head further towards the exit doors, I heard glass shatter — the bottle they mention. I quickly turned around to look, and he headed my direction and went really fast. I ran past one of the tills towards an aisle.”

“He then bolted out the store,” LeBlanc said. “One or two men came from the back who work there. The one male worker, for sure, was by the door.”

A woman — the victim of the assault — walked into the store and Nicholas soon followed, LeBlanc said.

“The lady instinctively embraced me, like a mother would embrace her child, to protect me,” LeBlanc said. “It happened so fast. The guy hit her in the head within a split second of her embracing me. She is like an angel.”

“I stayed by the lady asking if she was OK, hoping she would be,” LeBlanc said. “The police were called at some point during all of this by staff at Bashas’. The guy ran up the street. (The video you have). Many many police cars arrived, and I think there was a  fire truck and maybe an ambulance or something like that.

“I would to share my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the kindness and selfless act of this wonderful lady,” LeBlanc said. “She honestly deserves some bravery award.”

A Sedona officer arrived on scene at the grocery store and reportedly saw Nichols running down Coffee Pot Drive. The officer exited the vehicle and pursued Nichols on foot with other officers arriving on scene to assist. While officers searched the area, Nicholas appears to have double-backed, ran around a car then towards the police car that the officer just exited.

Nichols reportedly got into the police car and drove it northbound on Coffee Pot Drive while a second patrol vehicle was pursuing it with lights and siren.

Nichols reportedly drove northbound on Coffee Pot before attempting to do a U-turn at Grasshopper Drive, driving the patrol car into a street sign, a telephone pole, a fire hydrant and a deep ditch.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper, who had arrived on scene to assist, implemented a precision immobilization technique or “PIT” maneuver, successfully stopping and disabling the vehicle from going any further. Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office’s deputies and off-duty Sedona Police Department officers had also come in to assist.

Nicholas then got out of the patrol car and flee on foot northbound on Coffee Pot Drive.

Officers tased him and he fell to the ground. While trying to get him into handcuffs a struggle ensued. Nichols was kicking and punching at officers, and he was drive stunned with a taser, subdued and finally taken into custody.

Kahlil Alexander, a 16-year-old Sedona Red Rock High School student, was on Grasshopper Lane and witnessed part of the foot chase, which he captured on video:

“The time was around 9:20 p.m., estimated based off the video I took when outside I heard yelling coming from far down the road, around Bashas’. Right away I heard yells from multiple people saying things like ‘Get out of the vehicle’ and ‘do not run,’ stuff like that.”

“Then, all of a sudden there were loud noises of police cars approaching, then another, way louder engine revving as it sped up, incredibly,” Alexander said and he ran along Grasshopper Lane toward the noise, while getting out his phone out to record. “For a second there was a little clearing in the brush as I saw a big truck speed by with multiple red and blue lights showing through the bushes.

“When I reached Grasshopper Road, right where you enter the parking, I saw the truck, I believe it was white, as it approached the speed bump right before Grasshopper Lane” at the Grasshopper Lane and Coffee Pot Drive intersection.

“After losing sight of the car itself, but not its headlights, I heard a giant crash and policemen telling a person to leave the vehicle,” Alexander said. “I also heard what I believe to have been the officers telling him to put his gun away or the man saying so to the officers.

“At this point my video had started recording, and you can see the police chase the man across up Coffee Pot Drive across the end of Grasshopper Lane. Based on where the lights of the cars and people yelling were, I know for a fact the man was up on the road Budd Way, right before the hill up Coffee Pot Drive.”

“There were lots of yelling and the man begging to not be shot while still running.

“After another 20 to 30 minutes, they had caught the man, how I don’t know, however the man was injured, as stated by the woman calling Nathan’s name and officers saying he needed medical attention and will be taken care of in the infirmary,” Alexander said. “I heard noises of shots that resembled tasers — I believe as they did not sound loud enough to be pistol shots. After it died down and I knew the scene was over, my brother and I made our way down Coffee Pot Drive, when I took that photo of the many, many police cars.”

Nicholas was first transported to the hospital, where he was medically evaluated and treated for minor injuries that occurred from breaking the window at the Northview residence and from the fight with officers.

Nichols is currently being investigated for impairment. He is currently facing charges from the four incidents that include burglary of a residence, trespassing, disorderly conduct, felony flight, theft of a vehicle, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, at least five counts of criminal damage, resisting arrest and at least four counts of aggravated assault.