An 18-year-old man was behind bars Monday on suspicion of nearly running over Huntington Beach police officers who pulled him over following a pursuit in a stolen car.
Adrian Coates of Huntington Beach was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and was being held on $50,000 bail.
When police attempted to detain the driver of a 1996 Honda Accord about 2:50 a.m. Sunday for a vehicle code violation. he sped away west on Edinger Avenue, according to Officer Jennifer Marlatt.
A check of the car’s license plate during the chase showed it was stolen, according to Marlatt, who said the driver refused to stop, blowing through two signs and continuing south toward Davenport Drive.
The pursuit continued west on Davenport and then north on Baruna Street to Nalu Circle, where the driver stopped at the end of the cul-de-sac, Marlatt said.
As police got out of their patrol cars and were giving commands to the driver and two other men in the stolen car, the driver punched the gas and drove toward the officers, Marlatt alleged. The officers, who managed to get out of the way, fired at the car, hitting it several times, but the driver kept going, she said.
An Orange County sheriff’s helicopter crew spotted the stolen car near Edgewater Lane and Courtney Drive just after 4 a.m., Marlatt said.
Investigators arrested Coates, who was unhurt, about 11 p.m. Sunday, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.
— City News Service