Santa Rosa police arrest man on drug possession after leading 100 mph chase
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF/BCN) – Santa Rosa police arrested a 35-year-old man after leading police on a 45-minute-long pursuit around Santa Rosa, which reached speeds of 100 mph, before officers arrested him inside an unlocked home early Tuesday morning.
Santa Rosa police said Jose Hernandez was arrested after a pursuit that began shortly after 3 a.m. when an officer in the area of Petaluma Hill Road and Frazier Avenue saw a silver Acura driving with loud exhaust.
When the officer attempted a traffic stop for the vehicle code violation, the driver -- later identified as Hernandez -- did not yield and a pursuit ensued that went several miles throughout Santa Rosa and reached speeds of about 100 mph along state Highway 12, according to police.
Officers tried to set up spike strips at several locations to try to stop the car and were eventually able to do so in the area of Old Redwood Highway and Mark West Springs Road, though the Acura traveled a short distance further on three flat tires before coming to a stop, where Hernandez allegedly ran into a large dark field and then jumped a fence into a residential neighborhood, police said.
Hernandez went into an unlocked home on Dorchester Drive where the homeowners woke up to find him trying to hide in one of their bedrooms. Officers, with the help of a police K-9, were able to take him into custody and found he had about 12 grams of suspected methamphetamine in his possession, according to police.
Hernandez, who was on felony probation, was booked into county jail on suspicion of evading police, possession of methamphetamine, burglary, and violating his probation, police said.