A 39-year-old Ceres man led police on a high-speed chase characterized by reckless and threatening moves toward officers Sunday evening. The man later bailed from his car and was apprehended on the Ceres High School campus.

The incident began at 10:45 p.m. when Officer Scott Faure was sent to the area of 7th and Magnolia streets for a report of a suspicious gray Toyota Tacoma with a male slumped over in the driver seat. Officer Faure pulled in behind the vehicle, which prompted driver Brandon Mize to accelerate from the curb and drive recklessly in an attempt to get away. Mize ran the stop sign at 7th and Magnolia and ignored emergency lights and siren.

Mize led officers on a pursuit throughout the city. Ceres Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Keith Griebel said that “at one point the driver of the Toyota attempted to hit a Ceres Police car head-on and made the officer move to avoid a collision.”

The chase ended when a pursuit intervention technique (PIT maneuver) was used caused Mize’s car to spin and stop. Mize then ran onto the Ceres High School campus where Sgt. Jose Berber found him hiding with a replica firearm in his hands. Mize quickly dropped the fake gun when he was discovered, and he was arrested.

Mize was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center where he faces charges of evading a peace officer in a vehicle without regard for others, driving under the influence, violation of parole, and attempted assault with a deadly weapon.