CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Santa Rosa man was arrested on Saturday night after he led Clearlake Police officers on a chase in a stolen vehicle.
Henry Hanalei Hikalea, 33, was taken into custody for an outstanding felony warrant, as well as felony charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, felony evading and assault on a police officer, according to Lt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.
Shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday Clearlake Police Officer Trevor Franklin made a traffic stop on a 2013 Nissan for driving recklessly in the area of Cottonwood Street and Walnut Avenue, Celli said.
When Officer Franklin approached the vehicle, the driver – who was not known to the officer at the time – sped away at a high rate of speed, according to Celli.
Franklin made his way back to his patrol vehicle and pursued the driver, who Celli said later was identified as Hikalea.
Hikalea was discovered to be a parolee at large. In addition, shortly after the pursuit began, officers were notified by dispatch that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Santa Rosa, Celli said.
Celli said additional Clearlake Police officers joined in the pursuit. Hikalea led officers through the city of Clearlake and up onto Highway 53, with speeds sometimes reaching 100 miles per hour.
Hikalea continued back into the city of Clearlake, driving – according to Celli – “with complete disregard for public safety” and reaching speeds of up to 60 miles per hour on surface streets for just over seven miles.
When the pursuit reached the area of Lakeshore Drive and Villa Way, Hikalea rammed his vehicle into Sgt. Dominic Ramirez’s patrol vehicle, Celli said. At that point officers used police intervention to bring Hikalea’s vehicle to a stop.
Once Hikalea’s vehicle was stopped officers took him into custody without further incident, Celli said.
Altogether two Clearlake Police vehicles and the stolen vehicle were damaged in the incident, but Celli said no one was injured.
Hikalea later was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons and then booked in the Lake County Jail, Celli said.
Jail records indicated that Hikalea was being held without bail due to a felony parole violation.
Celli said the California Highway Patrol was requested to respond to the scene for assistance and diagramming. Lakeshore Drive at Villa Way was closed for approximately one hour during the investigation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Officer Trevor Franklin at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.
Parolee arrested after leading police on vehicle pursuit through Clearlake
- Lake County News reports
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