2 suspects dead after police pursuit on I-8

Two carjacking suspects died Wednesday following a lengthy pursuit that began when they tried to avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Wellton.

The dead men were brothers who had been sought since they reportedly carjacked a couple and took their white Dodge sedan at the Grand Canyon on Monday night, said Pinal County Sheriff’s spokesman Mike Minter.

The chase ended about 30 miles south of Phoenix after the white Dodge Caliber was disabled by spike strips, according to Minter.

Officers approaching the disabled vehicle heard gunshots and found the two dead in what appeared to be a murder-suicide, he said.

"It appears one man in the vehicle shot the other guy and then turned the weapon on himself," Minter said.

Minter said the men were identified as Travis N. "T-Bo" Twiggs, 36, and Willard J. "Will" Twiggs, 38.

Authorities from the National Park Service had been searching for the brothers since two men stole a car at gunpoint from two people Monday night at the Grand Canyon National Park. The men had crashed their own car several hours earlier but walked away carrying backpacks.

Travis Twiggs was recently an active-duty member of the military based at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va., said national park spokeswoman Shannan Marcak. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was reported to be unpredictable. Will Twiggs was from Louisiana.

Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Eric Anderson said the chase began Wednesday morning after an agent at the Wellton checkpoint saw the vehicle traveling on a parallel dirt road on the south side of the interstate, about 10 yards away from the checkpoint.

Anderson said the agent walked over to the road, stopped the vehicle and asked the men several questions. The agent became suspicious of their answers and ordered the men to the secondary inspection area of checkpoint for additional inspection, he said.

"They got back on the interstate and that's where the (chase) ensued," he said.

Border Patrol agents followed the car, joined by officers and deputies from several state, county and Indian tribal police agencies during the 130-mile pursuit. An officer with the Tohono O’odham Nation police deployed spike strips near the town of Stanfield about 40 miles south of Phoenix, flattening the tires on the Dodge.

The driver kept going for about a mile before the car veered off the interstate and hit a small tree.

After shots were heard, officers backed off until agents in helicopters determined both men appeared to be dead.

Federal officials said it is possible the men were trying to commit suicide during the initial accident.

"There were strong indications at the accident site that they may have been trying to drive into the canyon," Marcak said. "But I think part of that is just where the vehicle was located."