Two would-be robbers were brought to a halt after their getaway car couldn’t take the heat.

Rayford Reed, 51, Paola, and Jarrod Harris, 28, Overland Park, were apprehended on I-35 after their attempt to steal two 42-inch televisions from the Ottawa Walmart Supercenter was thwarted by law enforcement Sunday night. A short car chase on the interstate ended in the suspects being apprehended by authorities after the vehicle they were in experienced a mechanical failure, Capt. Adam Weingartner, of the Ottawa Police Department, said.

Two would-be robbers were brought to a halt after their getaway car couldn’t take the heat.

Rayford Reed, 51, Paola, and Jarrod Harris, 28, Overland Park, were apprehended on I-35 after their attempt to steal two 42-inch televisions from the Ottawa Walmart Supercenter was thwarted by law enforcement Sunday night. A short car chase on the interstate ended in the suspects being apprehended by authorities after the vehicle they were in experienced a mechanical failure, Capt. Adam Weingartner, of the Ottawa Police Department, said.

At about 10:45 p.m. Sunday, the suspects were seen with the TVs by a Walmart employee and Sandy Humphrey, 48, Ottawa, according to the police department report. Humphrey approached the suspects in the parking lot as they were attempting to load the TVs into their 2004 Chrysler. In the suspect’s attempt to flee the scene, the vehicle struck Humphrey, as well as another vehicle in the 2200 block of South Princeton Street. Humphrey received minor injuries but refused medical treatment, the report said.

“[It was] about six minutes from the time that we were notified of the call to the time that they were in custody,” Weingartner said.

The suspects fled the Walmart parking lot at 2101 S. Princeton St. and were stopped near mile marker 193 on northbound I-35.

With an Ottawa officer in pursuit, the suspect’s vehicle came to a slow stop after the engine apparently failed, Weingartner said.

“It would appear that maybe the engine blew,” the captain said. “Smoke started coming out from it, and it rolled to a slow stop.”

The vehicle’s engine failure, as well as an officer being near the Walmart, helped end the chase before anyone else could get hurt, Weingartner said.

“The sheriff’s office was responding from north of Ottawa on I-35 heading south, and we requested them to set up spike strips to stop the vehicle,” he said. “Luckily the vehicle’s engine blew, and we didn’t have to put anyone else in danger. It safely slowed to a stop and off the highway.”   

Both suspects were arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, obstructing the legal process and theft. Reed, identified as the vehicle’s driver, also was arrested on suspicion of fleeing and eluding, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Reed and Harris both are being held in Franklin County jail.

The televisions were returned to Walmart, Weingartner said. The police captain also said an internal report is being gathered by Walmart management to determine whether or not the store’s alarm went off when the suspects walked through the door with the televisions.