Man Arrested In Connection With 20-Mile Hwy 37 Chase From Sonoma

NORTH BAY, CA — Sonoma County sheriff's deputies caught up with a Marin County man Monday night and arrested him on suspicion of leading deputies on a dangerous, 20-mile pursuit at high speeds Saturday night along state Highway 37 from Sonoma to U.S. Highway 101, a sheriff's spokesman said.

The chase involving 34-year-old Jesse Watson of Novato started around 8:20 p.m. Jan. 11 when deputies responded to a report of suspicious people in a white Chevrolet Malibu in the 500 block of Ivy Court in Sonoma, sheriff's Sgt. Juan Valencia said.

"The driver, later identified as Watson, got out of the car and spoke with the deputy," Valencia said. "Suddenly, Watson ran to the Malibu and sped away northbound on Heather Lane. The deputy was notified from dispatch that the license plate had been reported stolen. The deputy started chasing him through county and city streets and onto Highway 37."

As deputies chased Watson onto westbound SR-37, he drove on the right shoulder to pass several cars, Valencia said.

When the pursuit reached the SR-37 interchange at U.S. 101, Watson reportedly took the northbound on-ramp and slammed on his brakes as he positioned his car to drive southbound in the northbound lane, Valencia said.

Fearing someone may be seriously injured or killed because of a wrong-way driver, one of the deputies did a Pursuit Intervention Technique — PIT maneuver — on Watson's car. When that was not effective, deputies decided to cancel the pursuit because of Watson's dangerous driving, Valencia said.

Two people did suffer minor injuries when they swerved to avoid a head-on collision with Watson as he drove southbound on the northbound shoulder of U.S. 101, the sergeant said.

According to Valencia, the driver and passenger of that other car were injured when they hit a metering light to avoid the crash with Watson.

"Deputies at the scene then learned that Marin County deputies had pursued Watson two other times and he had warrants," Valencia said.

After searching for Watson throughout the weekend, deputies and detectives found him in the 24000 block of Arnold Drive in Sonoma.

He was taken into custody around 9 p.m. Monday and booked into Sonoma County jail.

"Watson is being charged with resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony arrest warrant for violation of probation, felony evading, possession of stolen property, probation violation and driving a vehicle on the wrong side of the roadway during a pursuit," Valencia said.

Watson remained behind bars Tuesday; he is being held without bail because of his probation warrant and hold, according to the sheriff's office.

"While this pursuit was lengthy, it was necessary to stop and arrest a person who has shown his intention to endanger the public," Valencia said. "We thank those who were in the area of this pursuit for your cooperation and safe driving as peace officers worked to resolve this problem."