Suspect Found In Pursuit Ending With Deputy's Fiery House Crash

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – The subject of a law-enforcement pursuit Sunday morning, that ended with a deputy being seriously injured after his patrol vehicle crashed into a Bodega Bay house, causing both the home and car to burst into flames, was arrested, along with two others, later that day after he left his Santa Rosa residence, officials said today.

Ryan Moore, 35, was identified as the driver of a gray Honda Pilot, who got away in the early morning incident involving possibly stolen generators, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said. After staking out his residence on the 3900 block of Monet Place in Santa Rosa, authorities, at about 3:30 p.m., saw him leave in a 2015 Toyota Sienna van, pulled over the vehicle in an industrial park off Coffey Lane and took Moore, and the other van occupants, a Sonoma County woman and a Solano County man, into custody, deputies said.

During an investigation into generator thefts from area campgrounds, the high-speed pursuit of Moore came to a crashing, fiery halt Sunday at about 5 a.m. when a deputy slammed into a home on the 600 block of Highway 1 in Bodega Bay -- a residence that was an Airbnb rental with three, sleeping occupants from San Francisco inside, deputies said.

The trio was uninjured and safely evacuated by deputies before the patrol car and residence erupted in flames. The sheriff’s deputy, who was behind the wheel, was hospitalized with serious injuries, but is expected to make a full recovery, although the agency did not identify him or provide details of his injuries.

The Bodega Bay pursuit began as the department was following up on multiple theft reports over the past two weeks of generators from Bodega Bay campgrounds, deputies said.

Conducting a stakeout shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, one deputy was parked and looking for suspicious activity from an unmarked vehicle in the Doran Beach Road campground, while two patrol deputies waited nearby in marked patrol cars, the agency said.

At about 2:45 a.m., the deputy spied a white sedan drive in and around the coastal site "making suspicious movements, like turning into roads with a locked gate, then backing out," deputies said, adding that after parking at the end of the campground, the driver and a passenger, both in dark clothing, allegedly got out and walked about the area.

Then at about 5 a.m., one deputy saw a second vehicle enter, but did not "get a good look at it," and a few minutes later saw the white sedan leave the campground, the department said.

Deputies, waiting outside in the marked units, reported a gray Honda Pilot pulled out of the camp area at about the same time and followed that vehicle -- presuming it was second car the look-out deputy had spotted, the sheriff's office said.

"The deputies, believing the suspects in the Honda had just committed thefts in the campground, initiated a traffic stop after the Honda turned north onto Highway 1 in Bodega Bay," the department said.

The Honda driver refused to stop and allegedly sped off at speeds of 90 mph to 100 mph heading north in Bodega Bay, the department said.

One pursuing deputy "lost traction on a curve and went off the roadway," crashing into the Airbnb rental -- a 5 a.m. crash that woke the three inside.

The deputy managed to get out of his car, while another patrol deputy forced open the home's front door and led out the occupants as smoke began developing under the patrol car and the home caught fire, the agency said.

Area fire departments responded to the blaze, and the Airbnb tenants were put up at a local hotel.

The Honda Pilot -- later determined to be stolen from the Santa Cruz area -- was found abandoned at about 9 a.m. Sunday by state park rangers at a construction site on the 300 block of Bay Vista Lane in Bodega Bay, deputies said. Detectives processed the vehicle and reportedly recovered from inside two portable generators, presumed to be stolen from the Doran Beach campground, along with leads that purportedly identified the driver as Moore, the department said.

The Toyota minivan, in which Moore and two others were riding when arrested Sunday afternoon, was listed as stolen from San Pablo, deputies said. The three were questioned by the Sheriff’s Office and "it was determined Moore was the driver of the stolen Honda Pilot that led the deputy in a pursuit prior to the collision into the house in Bodega Bay," the department said.

The van driver, Anthony Stone, 32 of Vallejo, was arrested for suspicion of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle, with bail set at $10,000

The other occupant, Angelica Cardiel, 31 of Santa Rosa, allegedly was found to have a methamphetamine pipe in her purse and was arrested for suspected possession of drug paraphernalia. She was booked, issued a citation to appear and released, deputies said.

Moore was booked into the Sonoma County Jail for suspicion of reckless evading causing great bodily injury, willfully resisting a peace officer which caused serious bodily injury, possession of a stolen vehicle and probation violation, with bail set at $110,000.

Detectives are attempting to determine if others are involved in the suspected generator-theft ring and are trying to identify owners of the presumed stolen generators found in the Honda so the items can be returned, deputies said.

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--Images via Sonoma Sheriff