A 38-year-old convicted robber has been charged with ramming two police vehicles in a pursuit that ended in Garden Grove, according to court records obtained Wednesday.
Jonathan Ray Mclaurin was charged Tuesday with two counts of assault with a weapon on a peace officer, a count of leading police on a chase driving in the opposite direction of traffic, a count of reckless driving in a police pursuit, a count of theft with a prior felony conviction of car theft, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia and an infraction for driving without a valid license.
He pleaded not guilty in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana and is scheduled to return to court March 19 in the West Justice Center in Westminster for a pretrial hearing.
Just before 2 p.m. Sunday, police saw a stolen vehicle near Harbor and Garden Grove boulevards that was taken during a burglary in Garden Grove earlier the same day, police said.
When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver led police on a chase through several cities in which he rammed two separate police vehicles before finally stopping on the Riverside (91) Freeway east of Imperial Highway, police said.
A police armored vehicle prevented the suspect from fleeing again and a police dog ultimately had to get him out of the car, police said.
Mclaurin has a lengthy criminal history, according to court records.
In October 2014, he was convicted of attempted robbery in San Bernardino County and separately convicted of robbery in Los Angeles County.
He was convicted of joyriding in San Bernardino County in January 2019.
McLaurin was convicted of robbery in April 2021 in Los Angeles County. In November 2022, he pleaded guilty in Orange County to attempted robbery at an ATM and robbery, both felonies, along with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and petty theft.