City of Itasca, Texas - Police Department

07/11/2026

06/10/2026

As many are aware, yesterday about 2:00 pm, Itasca Police made contact with an individual that was passed out in a running motor vehicle. Upon arrival narcotics were seen in plain view on the passenger seat and the driver was the only occupant. Officers knocked on the window until the driver woke up and started trying to drive off. The driver was given orders to stop but fled the scene at a high rate of speed. Itasca Police pursued the vehicle. The driver continued to flee with speeds close to 130 mph. The vehicle eventually wrecked on Hwy 81 and the driver then fled on foot. The individual was tracked by K-9 , drones were used and a helicopter. We had numerous citizen calling in that had spotted him and multiple law enforcement agency’s involved. The individual was taken into custody hiding in a corn field 19 hours after the initial Pursuit began. Thank You to all the citizens that called in. Thank you, for the great work done by The Hill County Sheriff’s Office who provided drones and manpower consisting of numerous Deputies, Texas DPS, Constable Kevin Cordell , The McLennan County Sheriffs Office who provided a Helicopter and all of the Itasca Police Officers.

01/12/2026

The Keene Police Department is aware of a reported bomb threat involving The Keene Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Iglesia Adventista Del Septimo Dia Church.
On 1/10/2026 at approximately 3:30 p.m. a threat was received via voicemail. Both locations were searched and cleared. During the investigation the suspect was identified as Joshua Pike (29) from Joshua, Tx. Arrest warrants were issued and Pike was located and arrested on Terroristic Threat charges. He was transported to the Johnson County Jail with additional charges pending.
We want to express our appreciation to our church partners and area law enforcement including the Hill County Sheriff's Office, Itasca Police Department, DPS Waco Division and several others for their assistance in this investigation.