Two Watsonville men were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after they allegedly broke into a Hughson house that morning and led Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies on a wild high-speed chase.
Driver Luis Garcia-Gomez, 26, and passenger Jonathan Arias, 24, are believed to be the same men who at 3 a.m. drove up to a home in the 6000 block of Fox Road in Hughson and broke into a sliding glass door in the back of the house. The dark of dogs inside the house scared off the men who ran to a stolen white Audi. The homeowner provided video surveillance to Hughson deputies showing the car and the suspects.
Shortly after 3 p.m. deputies with the Sheriff’s Community Resource Unit (CRU) spotted the stolen Audi near Crows Landing Road and Winmore Way west of Ceres. A traffic stop was initiated and Garcia-Gomez first pulled over to the side of the road but sped off as deputies got out of their vehicle.
The pursuit ended on Hatch Road just west of Jim Way when the Audi collided with another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured. Both suspects ran away but were apprehended after a short foot pursuit. Garcia-Gomez reportedly assaulted one of the deputies while being taken into custody.
“When we arrived at the scene of the collision, I immediately recognized one of the suspects from the surveillance video,” said Hughson Police Chief Fidel Landeros. “Both suspects were still wearing the same sweatshirts that they were wearing in the video as well.”
The Hughson surveillance video showed Arias ringing the doorbell at the front of the house. When nobody answered, Arias and Garcia-Gomez made their way to the back of the home and broke out the sliding glass door. They entered the home but were scared by the homeowner’s dogs and fled. Both suspects then ran back to the stolen Audi and left the scene.
The resident, who was home at the time, was not injured.
Garcia-Gomez was charged with attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime, felony resisting arrest, fleeing a peace officer, auto theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and possession of methamphetamine.
Arias was charged with attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime, delaying or obstructing an officer, and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact Deputy Sanjay Prasad at 883-4052 or leave an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 521-4636. Tipsters can also submit tips at www.stancrimetips.org or use the mobile app "P3" and you may be eligible for a cash reward.
