By admin 
YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — Police in Yuma said they rescued a 91-year-old kidnapping victim after a high-speed chase over the weekend.
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The suspect made his first court appearance Monday morning.
Jeffery Proett, 57, is facing 10 charges, eight of them felonies, including kidnapping and fleeing police.
According to the Yuma Police Department, it started when officers were alerted that a driver had fled a traffic stop in Wellton, about 30 miles east of Yuma.
A Yuma officer later spotted the driver at a gas station.
“The officer went up to contact the driver as he was getting out of the vehicle. The driver got aggressive and assaulted the officer,” said Sgt. Lori Franklin, with the Yuma Police Department.
Franklin said something caught the officer’s attention as the suspect tried to get away.
“He noticed there was an elderly female, unresponsive, in the passenger seat,” Franklin said.
Police spotted the vehicle again later, and a chase began on Interstate 8.
“DPS joined in the pursuit. We got through Telegraph Pass and then DPS actually used spike strips on the vehicle around milepost 43 by Tacna,” Franklin said.
Police said Proett fought with officers again after he stopped, until he was taken into custody.
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The 91-year-old victim was taken to Onvida Health in Yuma, where she is in stable condition.
Both the victim and the suspect are from Colorado, not Yuma. Police say the two knew each other, but investigators are still working to determine how.
Police say no missing persons report was filed for the victim.
In court Monday, Proett, who appeared in a wheelchair, acted erratically and said he hoped the victim was OK and that he did not have any weapons. That is when the defense attorney present said to not make any statements.
An attorney in the courtroom declined to comment, saying he did not yet know whether he would represent Proett in the case.
Proett is being held at the Yuma County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.
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