The jury trial for Kevin Mark Basford, 42, of Los Angeles began Tuesday afternoon in Snyder’s 132nd District Court.
Basford is accused of stealing a car in Las Vegas, and fleeing from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who attempted to stop him for speeding.
Basford was apprehended April 15, 2019, on a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a state jail felony.
The trial began at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, after the jury was empaneled earlier in the day.
Both District Attorney Ben Smith and defense attorney Trey Keith of Sweetwater addressed the jury with opening remarks. Smith gave an overview of the incident’s timeline, noting that DPS Trooper Nathaniel Washburn was monitoring traffic on U.S. Hwy. 84 in Garza County at about 3 p.m. when he attempted to make a traffic stop on a Chrysler traveling 59 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone. The driver didn’t stop and attempted to flee “…reaching speeds of at least 130 miles per hour for a very long extended period of time,” Smith said.
Washburn gave chase, eventually running out of fuel in Scurry County.
Basford’s vehicle exited U.S. Hwy. 84 and proceeded west on FM 612 until it reached Fluvanna, at which time it turned south on FM 1269.
Basford was finally arrested at 5:07 p.m. along U.S. Hwy. 180 near mile marker 346.
During the investigation, Smith said troopers discovered that the car was stolen from a Hertz rental agency in Las Vegas.
Keith said he didn’t disagree with the facts of the case as Smith laid them out in his opening statement.
“I don’t have any substantial disagreement with what Mr. Smith just told you,” he said. “I think the evidence is going to play out pretty much as he told you.”
Keith said the defense would present a “unique perspective” on the facts of the case in Basford’s defense.
Washburn was the first witness called by the state, and under questioning, related a similar story to Smith’s opening statement.
While Washburn was on the stand, Smith played two videos for the jury. One was the dashboard camera footage during the high-speed chase from Garza County to Scurry County and the other was footage from Washburn’s body camera during the investigation of the vehicle driven by Basford.
The trial was set to continue today with further video evidence, and testimony from the arresting trooper.
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