Two car chases occurred almost simultaneously in Stockton on Tuesday afternoon, with each vehicle being pursued by a different law enforcement agencies.
The pursuits crossed paths at Pacific and Tuxedo avenues in north Stockton along the Miracle Mile.
While the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office arrested their suspect, the car the Stockton Police Department was chasing sped past the scene, according to witnesses and spokespeople for the two law enforcement departments.
The Sheriff’s Office pursuit began near Harding Way in north Stockton shortly before 3 p.m., when a robbery suspect refused to stop for sheriff’s deputies, spokesperson Heather Brent said. The chase continued for almost two miles before the suspect wrecked his car at Tuxedo and Pacific, Brent said.
“He tried to flee and our K-9 deputy apprehended him. One of our nicest K-9s by the way,” Brent said.
The suspect was not injured by the canine deputy, but was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, Brent said. He later was booked into the San Joaquin County jail.
As sheriff’s deputies were making that arrest, a black SUV sped past the scene while being pursued by the Stockton Police Department, according to witnesses.
Stockton police officers tried to make a traffic stop around 3 p.m. at Madison and Oak streets in the Civic District, near the Central Library, Officer Omer Edhah said.
“The vehicle failed to yield, leading officers on a pursuit that ended when the suspects abandoned the vehicle,” Edhah said. “Officers searched the area, located the suspects and a firearm.”
Mary McGillicuddy and her husband, Paul, had just pulled up to the Thai Me Up Restaurant on the Miracle Mile. They saw the sheriff’s pursuit come to an end and the police department chase speed past the scene.
“I saw the man lying on the ground by the car as the sheriff’s deputy was holding back the K-9,” Mary McGillicuddy said. “Then a black SUV turned down the street (Tuxedo Avenue) toward the sheriff’s, made a hard right at the first corner (Beverly Place) and sped on. Police cars were following behind him, and the sheriff’s officers waved and pointed down the street toward the SUV.”
The two suspects abandoned their vehicle a short time later near west Mariposa Avenue and north Kensington Way, by the University of the Pacific, according to Edhah.
Officers arrested Terrance Robertson, 22, and Damein Brown, 28, for weapons possession and evading charges, Edhah said.