Man Arrested After Leading Officers On Car Chase In Santa Clara Co.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – An 18-year-old man who allegedly threw a gun out of a window while leading officers on a pursuit from Morgan Hill to Gilroy on Monday was arrested, police said Tuesday.

Gilroy resident Ernesto Garza was arrested for multiple alleged crimes including evading an officer, probation violation and hit-and-run, police said.

Around 8:40 p.m., officers were looking for a suspicious car seen traveling through the area near Carriage Drive and Llagas Road, police said.

The officers approached the vehicle but the suspect driver, later identified as Garza, sped away and led them on a pursuit that was quickly canceled because of heavy traffic, according to police.

Around the same time, the dispatch center received a call reporting the vehicle was in a hit-and-run collision that damaged another car after it fled from officers, police said.

Another caller told dispatch that he saw the suspect driver toss a handgun out of a car window, according to police.

The weapon was later found by an officer under a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus and brought in as evidence, police said.

Based on the tips, officers conducted another search for the suspect car and found it at East Dunne Avenue and U.S. Highway 101, according to police.

They tried to stop the vehicle, but the suspect didn't pull over and continued the pursuit south on the freeway, police said.

Garza took the East 10th Street exit in Gilroy and drove on city streets before parking in front of a home on Eigleberry Street, according to police.

The man was arrested without incident and booked into Santa Clara County Jail, police said.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police Detective Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-7867.

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--Bay City News/Photo via MHPD