A parolee who led deputies on a chase that began in the Banning area and ended in Cabazon, where he crashed his vehicle into a Riverside County sheriff’s car, was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in state prison.
Antonio Miranda, 48, pleaded guilty last June 29 to two counts of assault on a peace officer and one count each of felony evading, resisting arrest and possession of methamphetamine for sale.
Miranda submitted his plea directly to Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst at the Banning Justice Center, without input or objection from the District Attorney’s Office. The judge imposed the sentence that he had previously stipulated.
On the afternoon of Oct. 6, 2016, a sheriff’s patrol unit attempted to stop Miranda for vehicle code violations, but the defendant stomped his accelerator and fled. Miranda drove onto eastbound Interstate 10 at high speed, with the patrol vehicle in pursuit, eventually leaving the freeway and turning north onto the Morongo Indian Reservation in Cabazon.
According to the D.A.’s office, the defendant veered onto a dead-end road, where the patrol car was following close behind. When Miranda realized he was boxed in, he made a U-turn and collided into the sheriff’s unit, bringing the chase to a halt.
The two deputies were not injured, nor was Miranda, who tried to run away but was quickly apprehended.
The meth was discovered in his car and confiscated.
Miranda ultimately bailed out of jail and went into hiding. He was located and taken into custody without incident in February 2019 at a property in Idyllwild.
According to court records, he has prior convictions for possession of controlled substances, assault with a semiautomatic rifle on a peace officer and felony evading.