A probationer accused of leading sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit in Nuevo with a stolen motorcycle loaded into the rear of his pickup truck, then fleeing into hills near Lake Perris where he surrendered, was charged Tuesday with felony evading and other offenses.
Armando Reyes Gonzalez, 32, of Moreno Valley was arrested Friday after the miles-long chase.
Along with the evading count, Gonzalez is charged with vehicle theft, being a convicted felon in possession of a loaded gun and a sentence-enhancing allegation for being a repeat auto thief.
The defendant, who is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, was slated to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to Sgt. Dave Tinker of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, shortly after 8 a.m. Friday, deputies were sent to investigate a burglary in the 30000 block of 12th Avenue in Nuevo, where several items had been stolen from a house, including the motorcycle parked in the garage.
Tinker said a GPS tracking device on the bike quickly aided a sheriff’s helicopter crew in narrowing down its location, and the crew guided patrol units to an area near Moreno Valley, where Gonzalez allegedly was spotted driving a Chevrolet pickup with the stolen motorcycle.
According to the sergeant, deputies signaled him to pull over, but he fled instead, heading south back toward Nuevo.
Tinker said that during the pursuit, Gonzalez “tossed a handgun from the truck.”
“Gonzalez drove the Chevy off-road, and the helicopter continued to follow the vehicle into the hills,” he said.
A sheriff’s armored vehicle was sent in after him, at which point the defendant stopped and surrendered without further incident near Juniper Flats Road, south of Lake Perris, according to Tinker.
No one was injured.
“A search of the Chevy revealed the stolen motorcycle, narcotics inside the vehicle … and an AR-15-style rifle,” Tinker said.
According to court records, Gonzalez has prior convictions for vehicle theft, receiving a stolen car, possession of controlled substances and shoplifting. He also has multiple unresolved felony and misdemeanor cases pending in Superior Court.