Teen who led officers on wild chase in Hemet nabbed after crashing in residential neighborhood
HEMET, Calif., — Authorities say a 16-year-old boy who led officers and deputies on a dangerous, multi-agency, five-mile pursuit while riding an offroad motorcycle on city streets, through fields and neighborhoods, and along major roadways was eventually apprehended and arrested yesterday morning, Sunday, May 29.
The wild chase, parts of which were captured on cell phone camera by at least one area resident who witnessed the incident, ended when officers on foot managed to knock the young rider from his motorcycle, according to official accounts of the pursuit.
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City of Hemet police officers were conducting routine patrol around 11:49 a.m. when they spotted an offroad motorcycle being recklessly ridden on city streets in the area of Latham and Hamilton avenues, Hemet PD Public Information Officer Alan Reyes later said of the incident and arrest.
When officers attempted to conduct a traffic enforcement stop near the 500 block of N. Gilbert Avenue, the rider failed to yield and officers initiated a pursuit.
As the chase headed southwest through the city toward Domenegoni Parkway, pursuing officers notified other surrounding agencies and requested additional resources, at which time the first of two Riverside County Sheriff’s helicopters was launched to the area. Live flight radar tracking, which can be viewed in an image below, indicated that a second Sheriff’s chopper soon joined in following and monitoring the pursuit from overhead.
The fleeing motorcyclist, whose name has not been released due to his age, eventually traveled to a large open field in the area of Cloudywing Road and Domenigoni Parkway, before heading to another open field area between Cawston Avenue and Warren Road where he then attempted to elude pursuing officers while making numerous laps around and through the field.
With multiple patrol vehicles attempting to corral the fleeing rider, the teen eventually managed to momentarily elude officers by riding into a residential neighborhood northwest of S. Cawston Avenue, according to Reyes, who went on to explain that when the rider began traveling on Cassiope Court and attempted to make a turn and travel through a home’s front yard, “officers who were positioned outside of their patrol vehicles used this opportunity to push the rider off the motorcycle.”
“The rider lost (his) balance and disabled his motorcycle near the intersection of Cassiope Court and Sonoran Blue Road,” he continued, adding that after being knocked from his motorcycle, the rider was quickly taken into custody without further incident.
No injuries or collisions were reported as a result of the pursuit, which is being investigated by Hemet PD.
Although officials have not said what charges the rider would be booked on, he could be facing recklessly evading officers, resisting or obstructing arrest and other potential charges.
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Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Both are stringer organizations, providing breaking news coverage and community interest stories for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.