Officers Led On 2 Pursuits Over The Weekend: Petaluma PD

PETALUMA, CA — Arrests were made in two separate high-speed pursuits over the weekend in Petaluma, police said.

The first chase started around 1:39 a.m. Sunday when an officer saw a driver weaving and making an unsafe lane change. The officer tried to stop the car at Lakeville Street and Caulfield Lane. Still, the driver, later identified as Misaela Cabrera, failed to yield to the officer's lights and siren and instead entered the southbound U.S. Highway 101, Acting Petaluma police Sgt. Chris Ricci said.

A pursuit was initiated as Cabrera, 44, of Richmond, continued on southbound US 101 at speeds ranging from 55 to 65 mph.

After a 10-minute, 10-mile chase from Petaluma to Novato, exited the freeway at the De Long Avenue offramp in Novato and came to a stop. Officers conducted a high-risk stop and took her into custody without further incident, Ricci said.

She was no longer in custody Monday morning, the sergeant said.

As for the second pursuit, it started around 10:53 p.m. Sunday when officers were dispatched to a hit-and-run collision on East Washington Street at the southbound U.S. Highway 101 offramp.

The crash victim followed the suspect's car onto Ellis Street but lost sight of it, Ricci said. Officers were at the scene within minutes and saw the suspect's car drive by so they immediately followed the car along surface streets. As they tried to catch up with the car, the driver, who was later identified as Cupertino Giron, drove erratically and reached 65 miles per hour as he ran several stop signs, Ricci said.

Officers initiated a pursuit that lasted for several blocks before Giron yielded to officers at East Washington and Edith street. A high-risk stop was performed and Giron and his passenger were taken into custody without incident, the sergeant said.

After the pursuit, officers learned that Giron’s passenger had requested to be let out of the vehicle on several occasions and Giron refused, Ricci said.

"Giron displayed objective signs of intoxication and was determined to be driving under the influence of alcohol," Ricci said.

Giron, a 26-year-old Healdsburg resident, was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony evading, felony violation of probation, driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license, and false imprisonment.

Because he was on felony probation for threatening a peace officer, he was not able to bail out of custody.