Low speed chase unusual and fascinating
Last night I sat in the UDJ office and listened for two hours to the high speed-low-speed pursuit of three guys who had apparently robbed a home in Laytonville and were trying to get away.
I didn't know anything about the crime itself at the time but heard the chatter on the office scanner. I was the only one there as it was after 8 p.m. and the reporters had all gone home and the Tuesday edition was done. Since I knew I would not be able to get any details on the incident while it was still unfolding all I could do is sit and listen. Since I'd heard an officer say the people in the car were likely armed and dangerous I felt I needed to keep listening to make sure something horrible didn't happen, like someone starting to shoot. As I listened the chase was on south of Willits on Highway 101 at 80--90 mph. It was unclear which police agencies were involved but I could tell both CHP and the Sheriff's office were in on it. I heard that a spike strip was being laid out at Gobbi Street, but somehow the perps missed it and it got instead some poor shlub in a full size pickup. We're trying to find out what happened to him. Anyway the perps headed east on Talmage and headed down Old River Road. They were leading the police on a chase down that curvy road at 60 mph. Then there was chatter about which way they would go at Hopland - up 175 or back to 101. Dispatch said they had contacted Lake County to alert them in case the perps took 175. Then they said there would be a spike strip just before the roundabout in old Hopland. As I listened there were regular reports of the milepost markers and the speeds. The perps hit the spike strip at the roundabout at about 8:30 p.m. and continued toward Hopland. In the meantime officers asked the Ukiah Police Department to go back and look around at the Talmage Road off ramp to see of the perps had thrown anything out of the car. The rear passenger door seemed to be open throughout the chase down Old River Road. By this time the officers had determined there were three people in the vehicle, a large dark grey or blue SUV. After the perps hit the spike strip they slowed to about 15 mph and kept heading to Hopland, then back onto 101 south and toward Sonoma County. They slowed to 10 mph and the police followed them for an hour and a half down 101 at 10 mph. They stopped traffic both ways on 101 and just followed along. They called in a helicopter from Benicia and the copter got there about 30 minutes later but the pilot said it was too dark and hilly along that stretch of road to hover about so he headed back toward Cloverdale. He was called in case the perps abandoned the car and started running - or "taking leg" as the officers put it. But they didn't. I guess looking at the Russian River on one side and large hills upward on the east side of the road, it didn't look like a good place to start running. The slow speed chase went on and on with reports every couple of minutes like, "Mile post 8.81, 10 miles per hour," as they slowly approached the Sonoma County line. Sonoma County Sheriff's and Cloverdale police were waiting at this point and had closed off the exit to 128 from 101 at Cloverdale. The Mendocino County Sheriff's officers were ready to hand off the pursuit to Sonoma County when they hit the county line. They didn't make it. Just at Geysers Road where the road turns up a serious hill, the perps started to slow and then stopped. They were arrested without incident thank goodness.
I have to say I was fascinated by this slow motion drama. I assume there are protocols about handling these situations but it certainly wasn't what you'd expect.
Anyway, as I headed home myself to Hopland at about 10 p.m. I couldn't resist driving down to the incident site where the SUV stood with all four doors open and two Sheriff's cars guarding it. I turned and went home.
Since there was no official information and we have a policy of not going to print with scanner information only, and, the incident ended quietly, I left it for the morning and there should be something on the Web now about it. But I thought I'd give you my audio version. Why, do you ask, didn't I race down to Hopland to get in on the action? Believe me I thought about it. But since I didn't have a hand held scanner, if I left the office I would be out of touch and would no doubt have simply been stopped at 101 in Hopland not able to find out how it ended. So I opted to stay in the office and listen. Of course this is all info from what I heard on the scanner and isn't official. But it all happened as I heard it I'm sure and we'll get more details as the day progresses.