Driver allegedly rammed two patrol cars, drove 130 mph during chase in San Bernardino County

A man accused of stealing a vehicle and leading sheriff's deputies on a pursuit through San Bernardino County allegedly rammed two patrol cars and reached speeds of more than 130 miles per hour, authorities said.

Armando Villareal, a 26-year-old resident of Desert Hot Springs, allegedly refused to pull over when two deputies spotted him along Highway 395 driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen Thursday night, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department. They found him around 9:30 p.m. after the vehicle was reported stolen in the 12000 block of Air Expressway in Adelanto. 

Villareal fled and kept driving south on the highway before continuing onto the southbound 15 Freeway — where he allegedly drove at speeds exceeding 130 miles per hour, according to sheriff's officials. 

A sheriff's department helicopter flew overhead as the pursuit continued into the city of Redlands. 

Once in a cul-de-sac, Villareal tried to escape and rammed two patrol cars in the process, sheriff's officials say, leaving one of the cars completely disabled and damaging the stolen vehicle to the point where it could no longer run. 

He was taken into custody and booked into the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, where sheriff's officials say he is being held on $100,000 bail. The department says he is being held on suspicion of charges including grand theft auto, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle and evading a peace officer with disregard for public safety.