Fourth of July pursuit ends with Lodi arrest

A man who allegedly turned off his headlights and fled from Lodi police on Independence Day apparently didn't plan his escape route well: He tried to run close to where extra officers were monitoring crowds waiting to watch fireworks.

Daniel Conroy, 24, of Stockton, was arraigned in court Monday on a felony charge of evading police, as well as seven misdemeanors, including driving under the influence.

Nobody was injured during the brief escapade, which started around 8 p.m. Saturday. Officer Chris Delgado was on patrol and his radar alerted him of a speeding vehicle in the 2200 block of West Lodi Avenue, Sgt. Bill Alexander said. Delgado made a U-turn and tried to catch up to the 1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The car allegedly ran a red light at Lower Sacramento Road and headed north. The officer turned on his lights and sirens, but Conroy then allegedly turned off his headlights and sped away, Alexander said.

The chase headed north, then west on Turner Road and south along several streets in the Park West neighborhood. Conroy stopped and ran into a home in the 900 block of Pearwood Circle, Alexander said. A resident who recognized Conroy told officers that the suspect ran through her house and jumped over the back fence to Turner Road.

Motor Officer Brian Freeman, who was working a late shift to handle crowds a mile down the road at Lodi Lake, spotted the fleeing man. Conroy was soon arrested and booked into the city jail.

Conroy is also facing other charges including driving on a suspended license due to a previous drunken driving conviction, speeding and stop sign violation, according to San Joaquin County court records.

Reader Feedback

al da long wrote on Jul 9, 2009 8:18 AM:

" dog: the drunk driver didn't dictate the speed in regards to the officers back up. We were watching from the street corner, the chase had ended, driver was on foot hopping fences. 1 large motorcycle cop nearly clipped 2 girls on a razor, followed by 2 units "flying down Evergreen. That area of town has a ton of people and KIDS walking to the Park to watch the fireworks.
My point is it was wreckless not only on the piece of ...... drunk driver, but on the police backing up and chasing down a fleeing drunk that was on foot at the time. "

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dogs4you wrote on Jul 7, 2009 3:41 PM:

" Hey Trucker, Elm St., between Evergreen and Lower Sac. is by far the fastest 1/4 mile in Lodi. "

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dogs4you wrote on Jul 7, 2009 3:38 PM:

" al da long, depending on what year the car was, most if not all cars have daylight running lights and while difficult, not impossable to turn the head lights off, with LPD on your bumper why bother?

And one thing to keep in mind, the driver the police are chasing dictate the speed, as in OJ "the killer" Simpson and the low speed Bronco chase. "

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Great American Trucker wrote on Jul 7, 2009 9:04 AM:

" It's good to see LPD bagging a rightous felony bust for evading. There are so many drunken, speeding idiots around here. Given the crowds at Lodi Lake during the evening of the 4th, it's good to see that no one was hurt catching this moron.

Want to see a few of us sing and dance a jig? Bag these idiots who fly around Glaves Park at 70+ mph. In this 25-mph residental zone, I've actually seen people take that curve up on two wheels. One lady flew around so fast that she ran up the sidewalk curbing and almost hit me while I was out for a walk. Several have skidded up into the park lawn, then slide sideways back into the street, leaving broken front-end parts strewn all over the sidewalk.

Here's the kicker: most of these bozos live in that area! You'd think they would obey speed limits in their own neighborhood. Unbelievable. "

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al da long wrote on Jul 7, 2009 7:00 AM:

" driving without his lights at 8 pm in the middle of summer? him and every other motorist.
As for the Police pursuit, seeing police cars "fly down" residential streets in Park West at 60+ plus to back up the chase was as wreckless as the drunk driver. "

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