3 Arrested After Escondido Police Pursuit Ends In Crash

ESCONDIDO, CA – A driver led police on a brief chase Monday that began in Escondido and ended with a collision in an unincorporated area near San Marcos.

The chase was prompted by a caller telling police around 3:30 p.m. he had witnessed an occupant of a white Chevrolet Cruze pointing a gun at a man near the corner of East Sixth Avenue and South Juniper Street, said Escondido police Lt. Kevin Toth.

The caller followed the suspect vehicle until police were able to get behind it and try to pull it over near the intersection of Ivy Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

"The driver did not yield, and weaved around city streets for a few minutes," Toth said.

The chase ended when the driver crashed into an uninvolved motorist at the corner of Nordahl and Rock Springs roads in an unincorporated area near San Marcos. No one was injured in that crash, said California Highway Patrol Officer Mary Bailey.

Officers were immediately able to arrest the two passengers of the suspect vehicle. The driver attempted to flee, but officers found him in the backyard of a home on Rock Springs, Toth said.

He was identified as Dereck Rojas, 19. The two passengers were identified as Rafael Bravo, 22, and Johnny Martinez, 21.

The three were all taken to jail.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock