Hemet Police arrest man after he rammed a woman’s vehicle and smashed her windows with a tire iron
Trevor Montgomery
HEMET – A man purposefully rammed his van into another vehicle on Feb. 1, before repeatedly striking the other vehicle’s windows with a tire iron. Officers quickly located the subject and arrested him after he initially failed to yield to the officers.
At about 8:14 p.m., the Hemet PD emergency communications center received several urgent 911 calls regarding a male that had rammed his white van into four-door sedan on State St. Callers stated that after the subject rammed the other vehicle, he got out of his van armed with a tire iron and began striking the other vehicle’s windows. It was not immediately known what led to the violent incident.
Callers stated that following the assault and vandalism, the male, who was later identified as Pedro Pina, 37, of Hemet, fled the location in his van.
Officers quickly arrived at the location and made contact with the victim and witnesses to the initial incident. The victim, who was only identified as an adult female, told officers the suspect rammed her vehicle with his van while she was inside of it.
The terrified victim and witnesses told officers that after Pina rammed her car, he then exited his van and struck the windows of her vehicle at least seven times using the tire iron.
Within a few minutes of the first 911 call, an officer saw a vehicle and driver that matched the description provided by the victim and witnesses. The van was being driven Southbound on State St. at Latham Ave.
The officer initiated a traffic stop in the area of State St. and Florida Ave, by activating his overhead lights and siren. Pena failed to yield and continued Westbound on Florida Ave. Pina then drove South on Gilbert St. and finally stopped in the 100 block of S. Gilbert St.
Upon stopping his vehicle, Pina immediately became uncooperative with officers and refused to obey their commands. He was eventually taken into custody, according to Hemet Police officials.
Pina was positively identified as the suspect involved in the incident. He was arrested and booked into the Hemet PD Jail for assault with a deadly weapon, felony vandalism and several misdemeanors. He was later transported to the Southwest Detention Center and is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Correction: An earlier report indicated (Pena), correctly spelled Pina, had already been released from custody. This was based on a spelling error in Pina’s name. He is still being held in jail, in lieu of $25,000 bail.
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