Suspect Accused Of Injuring Police Officer Identified

HERCULES, CA —Two suspects who were taken into custody Tuesday after allegedly striking a patrol vehicle with a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest have been identified by Hercules police.

Austin Welch, 25, of Henderson, Nevada, and a 16-year-old runaway juvenile girl from Las Vegas were both arrested after an hours-long search for them in a swamp-like marsh area in Hercules on Tuesday morning, police said. It is unclear who was driving the car.

Around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, an officer patrolling Refugio Valley Road was passing by the stolen vehicle, which was parked in a turnout, and lit the car up with his spotlight. One of the suspects then got into the vehicle and drove away.

The officer followed the vehicle into a parking lot for a nearby swimming pool, then back out onto Refugio Valley Road, and the driver failed to stop at a red light and failed to yield for a traffic stop.

The suspects led the officer on a pursuit at speeds of roughly 75 mph, running several other red lights, then struck a curb at the intersection of Refugio Valley Road and Sycamore Avenue.

Another officer pulled up behind the driver in an attempt to conduct a high-risk stop, and the suspects allegedly backed into that vehicle on purpose, causing moderate damage to the vehicle and injuring the officer.

The suspects drove from that scene, and officers eventually lost sight of them in the area of Sycamore Avenue and Claeys Lane.

They located the vehicle shortly afterward in the vicinity of Claeys Lane and the state Highway 4 on- and off-ramps to Sycamore Avenue, where it had crashed into some fencing and had gone over an embankment.

The suspects abandoned the vehicle in a grassy swamp area, and could not be located during a search.

Then around 8:45 a.m., a news reporter at the scene of the crash observed Welch and the juvenile in muddy clothes hop a nearby fence and notified police, who responded to the area and took the suspects into custody.

Police said they both had to be restrained, and initially refused to provide their names and home addresses. They were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run, resisting arrest, auto theft and
felony evading police.

Both were taken to a hospital for evaluation due to their involvement in the crash and Welch supposedly banged his head against a patrol car window.

Welch was booked into the Martinez Detention Hall and the juvenile booked into Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock