HEMET: Suspect eludes capture after dangerous pursuit of stolen box truck

Last night’s pursuit began about 11:40 p.m., when a Hemet police officer began following a white box truck traveling on Oakland Ave.

When the officer radioed in the license plate number and learned the vehicle had been reported stolen the official initiated a traffic stop. The driver refused to stop for the officer’s lights and siren and accelerated away at high-speed.

With officers in hot pursuit, the truck sped eastbound toward and then around Park Ave., onto Meridian St., and then westbound on Florida.

During the approximately 8 mile pursuit, the fleeing man drove in an extremely reckless manner, without regard for pursuing officers or other motorists and radio traffic indicated the driver was observed traveling on the wrong side of the road and running all stop signs and stop lights. The driver also reportedly reached speeds between 60 and 70 miles per hour during the chase.

As the pursuit continued west on Florida and approached the intersection of Gilbert St., officers successfully deployed spike strips in front of the truck, flattening at least one of the large vehicle’s tires.

The suspect then traveled through the dd’s Discount shopping center parking lot, where he lost control of the vehicle and hit a brick wall separating the shopping center from the Mountain Lyon RV Resort.

Numerous police vehicles that pulled in behind the truck a few moments later surrounded the vehicle with both lethal and less lethal weapons drawn and began calling to the driver to exit the vehicle. Other officers closed off Lyon Ave. from Florida Ave, directing all vehicle traffic away from the scene.

After getting no response from inside the truck, officers eventually used a bean bag shotgun to break the vehicle’s window so officers could fire pepperball rounds into the cab of the truck.

Some witnesses who rushed to the scene as well as several area residents who live in the mobile home park behind where the pursuit came to an end later reported hearing what they believed to be automatic gunfire; however, the sound they heard was determined to have been a Co2 powered pepperball rifle as its air reserve ran out. Other than that less-lethal weapon and the bean bag shotgun, no firearms were discharged during the incident.

As the scene was unfolding, some angry citizens had to be repeatedly ordered to back away from the unfolding incident and not crowd the officers.

Several also had to be ordered to get out of the roadway, which they were standing in the middle of as they yelled at the officers and questioned their use of the less lethal weapons.

After officers deployed the pepperbal rounds into the cab of the truck, several people downwind of the powerful, powdered eye, nose, and throat irritant began coughing and gagging. One woman at the scene threw up and nearly fell to the ground, before being led away from the scene by two other bystanders.

It was not known if the woman later sought medical treatment, but the effects of concentrated pepper powder, much like pepper spray or other similar products, tend to wear off within 20-30 minutes, if not sooner.

When nobody emerged from the truck’s cab, a sheriff K-9 from neighboring San Jacinto was used to search the vehicle, at which time officers discovered the driver had fled the area moments before officers pulled up behind the disabled vehicle.

After learning the driver had already fled from the truck, officers searched the surrounding area but were ultimately unable to locate the man.

Hemet PD’s investigation is ongoing and officials have not yet released any information regarding the incident.

Anyone with information about Hemet PD’s investigation or who recognizes the box truck’s distinctive graffiti and knows who may have recently been driving the vehicle is encouraged to contact Hemet PD at (951) 765-2400. Callers can remain anonymous.

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Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents video

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.