Chicago Enterprise-Record
OROVILLE, Calif. -- Police chased a parolee-at-large Thursday night from an area near Montgomery Street and Feather River Boulevard into upper Paradise, where the man finally surrendered.
Speeds reaching 75 mph were reported as the suspect drove east on Highway 70, then north on Pentz Road toward Paradise.
California Highway Patrol units joined the pursuit on Pentz, and Paradise police became involved after the driver made it past a spike strip laid down at Malibu Drive and Pentz, just south of the town limits.
According to a report to dispatchers, one of the pursuit vehicles had two tires blown out by the spike strip.
Officers said the vehicle started to slow as it drove up Pentz, dropping to about 40 mph. The driver, not identified at press time, finally stopped for police near Wagstaff and Pentz roads and was taken into custody without incident. The suspect was reportedly first seen on Lower Wyandotte Road about 4:40 p.m. by a California Highway Patrol officer who recognized him as a parolee and requested help from Butte County sheriff’s deputies.
Several law enforcement agencies were watching for the suspect’s vehicle, a Ford Explorer, when a deputy reportedly spotted it near the Feather River Fish Hatchery. He reported to his dispatch center that the driver, the only person in the vehicle, had thrown a handgun into the water at about 8:25 p.m., just before the vehicle pursuit began. The deputy said the driver continued to reach for something on the seat to his right.
Divers from the Paradise police and Butte County Sheriff’s Office spent several hours Friday searching the Feather River just outside the hatchery looking for the weapon. At press time, authorities hadn’t announced if the weapon was found.
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