Man who led police on wild multi-county pursuit in 2022 sentenced to 13 years in prison

The Moreno Valley man who led authorities on a wild multi-county pursuit in 2022 was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Tuesday. 

Johnny Anchondo, 34, a parolee who was previously convicted of car theft and attempted carjacking, plead guilty to charges stemming from the chase that lasted from Fullerton to Whittier on Nov. 9, 2022, during which he crashed multiple times, stole two cars and rammed police vehicles before he was finally arrested. 

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to a slew of charges, which included: one count of carjacking, a count of burglary, eight counts of assault with a weapon on a peace officer, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of theft with a prior conviction for car theft, a count of attempted vehicle theft, a count of leading police on a chase with reckless driving, three counts of vandalism and one count of leading police on a chase in the opposite lane of traffic. All of the charges are felonies. 

Read more: Suspect in wild cross-county pursuit identified; families who had vehicles stolen still recovering

Additionally, Anchondo pleaded guilty to three counts of hit and run with property damage, one count of brandishing a weapon and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. All of those chargers are misdemeanors. 

Prior to reaching a plea agreement, he was eligible for up to 54 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin offered Anchondo a plea deal, approving 883 days of credit for those already spent behind bars after he was arrested, court records showed. 

The entire ordeal began at around 6:45 p.m. back on Nov. 9, 2022, when Fullerton Police Department officers had tried to pull Anchondo over for a traffic violation. Instead of stopping, he continued to drive and led police to a condominium complex where he stole a man's work truck, rammed a police patrol car attempted to block him in and again sped away. 

He then continued fleeing towards Los Angeles County, often driving at speeds up to nearly 100 miles per hour before dumping the broken-down van, which had popped tires and damage from other crashes. He then ran into the home of a family in Whittier, while armed with a knife, and stole the keys to their work truck before again fleeing from authorities. 

While pulling out of the cul-de-sac where the home was, he almost crashed into Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department cars that tried to block him in. He continued driving until finally ending up at a Mobil gas station in Hacienda Heights, where he again began to reverse into law enforcement cars. 

During the brief standoff, Anchondo held the gas pedal of the truck down, causing the tires to spin and billowing smoke to fill the air. At some point during the incident, deputies opened fire while Anchondo sat inside of the car. He was unharmed.