LAS VEGAS—Adult performer Michael Swayze, who was a 2020 AVN Awards nominee for Best Male Newcomer, has been charged in Las Vegas with muliple felony counts including kidnapping and grand larceny after being arrested May 24 following an extended police chase when he allegedly stole a Yellow Cab Company vehicle with a passenger still inside.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Thursday that Swayze jumped into the cab at around 11:15 a.m. the morning of the chase in the Bally's resort valet area when the driver stepped out to help the passenger unload her luggage. Swayze immediatley drove the cab off at a "high rate of speed," the news outlet said, but allowed her to exit the vehicle less than one mile away after hitting something in the road. According to what the passenger told police, she pleaded him to stop at that point, and he did, telling her to "get out of the vehicle and that it would be her only chance."
The cab had a GPS device inside tracking its moves, the Review-Journal noted, but Swayze was able to "destroy" it. Las Vegas police spotted the cab later and attempted to stop it, but he sped away once again, hitting multiple cars and leading to a roughly 60-mile chase by Metro helicopter up Interstate 15 into Logandale. Finally, the Arizona Highway Patrol stopped him close to the Arizona border by deploying spike strips, and he was arrested on charges of DUI, reckless endangerment and evading authorities, and sent to an Arizona jail. He posted bail there and is due for a hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court next month.
Swayze's attorney, Chris Rasmussen, issed a statement to the Review-Journal saying, "Our investigation has determined that this incident was the result of mental health issues. Michael did not possess the criminal intent requisite to violate the crimes alleged."
Photo of Michael Swayze from his Instagram page
