HEMET: Officers arrest suspect after pursuit of stolen car
Michael Cardoza prepares to be taken into custody during a felony stop following a wild pursuit. Miguel Shannon photo
HEMET – A man who led officers on a wild pursuit in a stolen car was arrested after leading them through the cities of Hemet and San Jacinto, into unincorporated Hemet, and then back into San Jacinto again.
During the pursuit the hood on the stolen car came loose and flipped up, blocking the driver’s view making the pursuit even more dangerous.
At the end of the pursuit, officers arrested 26-year-old, Michael Allen Cardoza. He was later booked into jail for 17 charges, some of which were related to a warrant for his arrest.
A Hemet police officer was on patrol about 8:25 p.m., when he conducted a licence plate check on a vehicle being driven in the area of Oakland Avenue and S. Buena Vista Street. City of Hemet emergency dispatchers advised the car, described as a silver Acura Integra, had been reported as stolen.
When the officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, Cardoza refused to yield and immediately sped away from the officer. The officer initiated a pursuit and chased the fleeing man. The officer was quickly joined by several other officers as the pursuit wound its way northbound through the cities of Hemet and San Jacinto.
An officer handcuffs Cardoza after the dangerous pursuit. Miguel Shannon photo
During the pursuit, Cardoza drove in an extremely reckless manner, without regard for other citizens or pursuing officers. He ran through a number of stop signs and red lights and reached speeds in excess of 95 mph.
After Cardoza left the City of San Jacinto he turned eastbound on Soboba Road and headed towards the Soboba Reservation. Other officers diverted towards Lake Park Drive with spike strip to ensure Cardoza would not be able to flee onto the reservation.
When Cardoza saw his path towards the reservation was blocked by waiting officers, he made several abrupt turns into a residential neighborhood before doubling back and heading westbound on Soboba Road in the direction he had just come from; directly towards the pursuing officers.
A police K9 is sent to check the stolen car for any additional suspects. Miguel Shannon photo
While fleeing westbound on Soboba Road at speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour, Cardoza lost control of the stolen car he was driving and spun out, nearly wrecking the vehicle. In spite of the close call, the suspect took off again.
As the vehicle was approaching State Street, the front hood of the stolen car flipped up, shattering the car’s windshield and blocking most of Cardoza’s view. In spite of the hood blocking his vision, he continued fleeing at dangerously high-speed.
Cardoza then fled southbound on State Street and headed back into the City of San Jacinto, with his hood still flipped up and blocking his view. In spite of the danger and his obstructed vision, he continued fleeing well about the posted speed limits.
Officers conduct a search after Cardoza was taken into custody. Miguel Shannon photo
Cardoza continued down several more main and residential street, before his vehicle began slowing after it possibly became disabled. The alleged car thief finally came to a stop just north of the intersection of San Jacinto Avenue and Fifth Street in San Jacinto.
In spite of putting his hands out the window, Cardoza refused to follow the directions of officers, who had taken up protected positions behind their vehicles and car doors. Several officers and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies who had converged on the area shut down a number of streets that were potentially in the line of fire.
Due to Cardoza’s highly erratic behavior and his refusal to cooperate with their orders, an officer deployed bean-bag shotgun rounds into the stolen vehicle. (See attached video of felony stop and deployment of bean bag rounds.) Neighbors in the area later reported hearing at least two rounds fired into the stolen car.
Officers cautiously approach the stolen vehicle. Miguel Shannon photo
Cardoza eventually exited the stolen car and was taken into custody without further incident.
Including his warrants, Cardoza was booked on 17 charges, including possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, recklessly evading a peace officer, driving on the wrong side of the road while evading arrest, and receiving stolen property, all felonies.
He was also booked for the misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, three counts of being under the influence of a controlled substance, two counts of failure to appear or pay a fine, three counts of failure to appear in court, disobeying a court order, theft of retail merchandise, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
A jail record search revealed Cardoza was being held in lieu of $120,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned at an unspecified court Nov. 18.
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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.