Crime & Safety
Chase Ensues As Parolee Tries Ditching Deputies: Sheriff
The Santa Rosa man allegedly drove 100 mph with open rum bottle in car allegedly taken without permission from his mom, officials said.
SONOMA COUNTY, CA – A Santa Rosa man was arrested on impaired-driving and other charges over the weekend after purportedly leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase on Sonoma County highways in a car allegedly "stolen" from his mother, officials said today.
At about 4 p.m. Saturday, a Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy tried stopping a 2002 Acura MDX that reportedly was driving erratically, speeding and tailgating other cars in the Stony Point and Todd roads area of Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said.
The driver, later identified as Michael Isaac, a 36-year-old parolee from Santa Rosa, did not pull over, instead allegedly speeding off on Todd, near Moorland Avenue, and entered the southbound freeway driving at speeds of more than 100 mph, deputies said.
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Two deputies in Rohnert Park joined the freeway pursuit, with one deputy behind and one in front, in an attempt to box in and slow the suspect, particularly on the Cotati grade, the department said.
The chase came to a near standstill, as Isaac allegedly drove to his right onto a dirt berm, nearly causing his car to tip over, but managed to pass the deputy in front of him. That deputy conducted a "pursuit-intervention technique," using his patrol car to contact the Acura and spin it around at a slower speed, deputies said.
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Isaac reportedly sideswiped the center divider, then came to a stop and was apprehended, officials said.
Deputies said Isaac had "a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and appeared intoxicated," had an open container of rum on the driver-side floorboard, and was subsequently arrested for suspicion of evading a peace officer, DUI and a parole violation.
Meanwhile the next day, Sunday, Isaac’s mother reported her son had taken her car from her home without permission on Saturday morning at about 11 a.m., authorities said.
"She wanted to give him a chance to return it before she called the police to file a vehicle-theft report," deputies said, adding that vehicle theft was added to his charges.
Isaac was booked in the Sonoma County Jail without bail due to his parole hold.
-Image via Sonoma Sheriff
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