FRESNO – Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man after he led them on a high-speed chase that ended when he drove into an orchard, and his car got stuck in the dirt.
The incident began shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday when a patrol deputy saw the driver of a grey Hyundai speed through a stop sign near McKinley Elementary School. The deputy put his lights on and attempted to pull the driver over at the next intersection.
Instead of stopping, the driver sped away from the deputy, going up to 80 mph and running multiple stop signs. The suspect sped through the school zone of Central High West, and continued along McKinley through Kerman.
About 10 minutes into the pursuit – and after about 14 miles driven on McKinley – the Hyundai driver made his way to where the pavement ends at McKinley and Lake, but continued to drive straight into an orchard and in between a row of trees.
McKinley westbound at Lake, where Chanquin ended his escape.
“Deputies were finally able to surround him once his car became stuck in the dirt,” the sheriff’s office said.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Alejandro Chanquin of Fresno, got out of his car and surrendered by lying down in the field, according to the sheriff’s office. A search of the car revealed a billy club and a knife, they reported.
Chanquin exhibited bizarre behavior after being captured, the sheriff’s office said, so he was taken to Community Regional Medical Center for a medical and mental health evaluation. Records show that Chanquin was arrested in 2010, and twice in 2013 for driving on a suspended license, and in March of 2013 for being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
