Driver Arrested In San Jose After Running From Traffic Stop
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Investigators have identified a man who was arrested early Wednesday morning after fleeing a traffic stop in San Jose as 30-year-old Armando Garcia.
Two other people who were in the car Garcia was driving, 21-year-old Antoinette Garcia and 30-year-old Gaudencio Rodriguez, have also been arrested, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. All three are San Jose residents.
A sheriff's deputy tried to pull over a Honda Civic for a vehicle code violation around 1 a.m. in the area of Moorpark and Saratoga avenues but the driver didn't stop, sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza said.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
Instead, he continued to drive slowly for a few blocks, then stopped abruptly in the right lane of Moorpark Avenue in the area of Camina Escuela.
As the deputy prepared to approach the Honda, the car door opened and the driver "just starts to run," Cardoza said.
Rodriguez and Antoinette Garcia stayed in the Honda, but they refused to cooperate or identify the driver. One did mention, however, that he might have a weapon, Cardoza said.
Cardoza said stolen mail and a stolen handicap placard were found in the Honda.
Deputies began to search the neighborhood, and called the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, which sent a K-9 unit to assist.
At 4:50 a.m., they located Garcia hiding near a shed in the yard of a home a couple of blocks from where he had pulled over.
Cardoza said Garcia suffered some scratches, perhaps while fleeing, and was taken to a hospital to be evaluated before being booked.
He has been arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, identity theft, conspiracy, and resisting arrest, Cardoza said. Additionally, he was wanted by San Jose police on a $5,000 warrant for resisting arrest for a previous incident.
Antoinette Garcia was arrested for possession of stolen property, identity theft and conspiracy. Rodriguez was taken into custody for possessing stolen property.
San Jose police assisted in Wednesday morning's search.
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