A San Jose man who allegedly drove a stolen vehicle was arrested after leading authorities on a vehicle pursuit that led to a crash and neighborhood search through Palo Alto early Sunday morning, a police official said.
Officers patrolling in the downtown area spotted a black 1991 Nissan pickup truck in the 400 block of Emerson Street shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, Palo Alto police Agent Marco Estrada said.
The truck was reportedly stolen out of the 500 block of Runnymede Street in East Palo Alto on Dec. 15, Estrada said.
The officers followed the truck and saw the suspect vehicle enter city parking lot "P" at 551 High St. and stop, according to Estrada.
Two officers in separate police cars turned on their lights and conducted a high-risk stop, he said.
The driver of the suspect vehicle ignored the officers and drove the truck towards them, police said.
One of the officers was able to jump out of the truck's path, according to police.
Local
The other officer had to jump back into his vehicle to avoid a collision, but the suspect drove into the officer's open driver's side door that then became shut, he said.
The patrol car sustained minor damage from the crash but the officer was not injured, Estrada said.
The officers then pursued the truck that fled the area at high speeds and continued to follow it through city streets, police said.
At about 1:25 a.m., the suspect turned off the truck's headlights and drove onto grass at Seale Park located at 3100 Stockton Place where he crashed into a fence, knocking over a 4-foot segment, Estrada said.
The suspect then left the truck, hopped fences and entered private backyards, according to Estrada.
Officers set up a perimeter in the neighborhood and searched for the suspect with the assistance of a police K-9 unit, Stanford Department of Public Safety deputies and officers from Mountain View and Menlo Park police.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew also helped in the search and located the suspect hiding in the backyard of a home in the 900 block of Loma Verde Avenue shortly after 2:15 a.m., Estrada said.
The crew notified officers on the ground and said the suspect was about to climb a fence to another yard, he said.
The police K-9 was able to stop the suspect and bit him, but he resisted officers, according to Estrada.
The suspect was taken into custody minutes later after a struggle with police.
The suspect, later identified as 21-year-old San Jose resident Augustin Barron Angulo, was transported to a hospital for minor injuries to his left thigh, a laceration to his right hand and scratches on his face, police said.
Once he was medically cleared, Angulo was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, felony resisting arrest, vehicle theft and reckless driving, according to police.
Two officers suffered minor cuts and scratches to their hands from the arrest but did not need medical attention, Estrada said.
The police dog was not injured, according to Estrada.Police personnel called residents at homes in the search area to notify them of the incident, he said.
The stolen truck will be processed for evidence before it is released to its legal owner, Estrada said.
