Lodi chase ends in Stockton

A man's $500 alcohol theft took a drastic turn Tuesday when he allegedly led Lodi police on a high-speed pursuit, then managed to steal one of their patrol cars and briefly drive the wrong way on Interstate 5.

Erving Martinez

Half a dozen law enforcement agencies were ultimately involved after the pursuit led from the Lodi Safeway, 2449 W. Kettleman Lane, into Stockton, where the suspect allegedly stole the police car after crashing his own car.

Erving Martinez, 23, of Antioch, was ultimately arrested after running through backyards and knocking on a Stockton door, telling the resident that robbers were chasing him, Lodi Police Lt. Steven Price said. Martinez was being held on $110,000 bail.

A 17-year-old girl in Martinez's vehicle, who was wanted on a no-bail warrant, was also arrested.

Police gave this account of Tuesday's events:

Around 2:35 p.m., someone flagged down Officer Jose Nuño in the Safeway parking lot to report that alcohol had just been stolen from the store. The officer saw the vehicle, a gold four-door Lincoln, being driven by a very heavyset man, which matched the description.

Nuño, a SWAT team member and 13-year department veteran, tried to stop the vehicle, which had no license plates, but it headed south at 70 mph on Lower Sacramento Road. The car reached speeds of 80 mph and went through a red light at Eight Mile Road, striking another vehicle.

That other vehicle did not appear to have significant damage, but by the time more police officers got to the scene, it was gone. Police are still looking for that victim vehicle, Price said.

The pursuit continued south and slowed due to heavy traffic. The collision had damaged Martinez's vehicle, and he turned east on Hammer Lane, then into the Toys 'R' Us parking lot near Etna Road. There his vehicle stalled.

Martinez got out of the car and Nuño gave chase, attempting to knock Martinez to the ground.

But Martinez, who police said weighed roughly 350 pounds, did not fall. Instead, he turned and knocked over the officer, who is about half Martinez's weight.

The suspect got in Nuño's patrol car and began to drive away as Nuño held on to the door, trying to stop him. He let go as Martinez gained speed, and Nuño had minor scrapes and abrasions on his arm.

Another Lodi officer had caught up and a second pursuit started, with the suspect driving over a median and briefly heading the wrong way on Pacific Avenue.

With the patrol car's siren and flashing lights on, Martinez fled west down Hammer Lane, reaching speeds of 80 mph, according to the officer following him.

Traffic was backed up at Interstate 5, where the patrol car's tires began to have troubles due to Martinez previously driving over the median. He kept going, driving south on the northbound off-ramp of Interstate 5, then onto the freeway.

That trip didn't last long before a whole tire came off the patrol car, and the vehicle came to a stop.

Martinez ran from the car, through a neighborhood just east on the freeway. He went through a backyard and knocked on the sliding glass door of a house in the 7400 block of Kelley Drive. He told the resident he was being chased by suspects, and the citizen let him in.

In the meantime, officers from Stockton Police, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, Stockton Unified School District and the Delta Regional Auto Theft Task force were arriving to find the suspect.

A Sacramento County Sheriff's helicopter circled overhead, broadcasting a description of the suspect, and two San Joaquin County Sheriff's dogs were soon helping search.

As the officers went yard to yard, the Kelley Drive resident heard the commotion and realized the man sitting on his couch was wanted by police.

Martinez was ultimately arrested without further incident at 4 p.m.

Back at the vehicle theft scene, Nuño did not need medical help and was soon looking for the teenage girl, who had also fled from Martinez's car. Citizens directed him to a Subway, where employees said the girl was hiding in the bathroom.

The girl, whose name police did not release because she is a juvenile, was arrested on the warrant, and was also listed as a missing person. She is likely facing charges of resisting arrest and grand theft of the alcohol.

Police recovered the alcohol, which included large bottles of Jack Daniels and other hard liquors, and said the value was between $500 and $700.

Martinez was booked into the city jail on suspicion of vehicle theft of the patrol car; assault with a deadly weapon, because Nuño was still holding onto the car; grand theft of the firearms in the patrol car; grand theft of the alcohol; two counts of evading police because there were two separate car pursuits; battery on a peace officer; and hit-and-run at Eight Mile Road, Price said.

Martinez's car was towed from the parking lot, and the Lodi patrol car was towed to the city's maintenance lot. The tire's rim was damaged, the side was scraped, a rear-view mirror was dangling and it wasn't known yet if it had further damage.

Martinez was booked into the city jail and is expected to appear in court later this week.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Lodi Native wrote on Jun 23, 2008 9:44 PM:

" Officer Nuno is going to have to transfer to another town.... he'll never live this one down.

I always thought that when someone runs like this, every officer involved should be allowed to hit the guy with his billy club. In this case, they should just eat a Snicker's bar in front of him. "

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