A 23-year-old Modesto man led Ceres Police on a chase early Wednesday, March 9 in a stolen car and at one point threw a gun out the window.

At 4:40 a.m., Officer Gloria Blakeslee was on patrolling northbound on Morgan Road behind a white Honda. While they both made an eastbound turn onto Whitmore Avenue, Officer Blakeslee attempted to stop the driver for a vehicle code violation. The driver, Austin Lee Nix, 23, of Modesto, accelerated eastbound on Whitmore Avenue in response to her emergency lights and siren.

The pursuit wound through several city blocks with the Honda striking a curb and causing damage to the front right tire. Moments later Nix was seen tossing a loaded silver semiautomatic handgun from a car window. Nix eventually stopped in the 700 block of River Road where he attempted to flee on foot but was quickly captured.

Police learned that the Honda had been stolen in Manteca.

Nix was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of evading police, vehicle theft, possession of a controlled substance, probation violation, possession of burglary tools, and possession of a firearm.