Two Arrested After Chase in Vehicle Stolen From Menifee

Map courtesy of Google maps. Numbers correspond to numbers in the story.

A car stolen in Menifee was located in a Perris flood control channel Thursday and two suspects were apprehended a short distance away, authorities said.

Sean Hughes, 24, and Jesus Jimenez, 23, both from Perris, were booked at the Southwest Detention Center on charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, felony evading, obstructing a peace officer, possession of stolen property and petty theft.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the report of a possible theft at a business in the 1800 block of North Perris Boulevard (No.1 on map) at 10:18 a.m., according to a news release. When deputies attempted to contact the occupants of a suspect vehicle, the suspects fled in the vehicle. It was later located near Cajalco Road and Clark Street in the area of Mead Valley (No. 2 on map) by a police helicopter. A female passenger who fled from the vehicle at that time was detained.

As the chase continued, the helicopter crew followed the vehicle to an area near Perris Boulevard and Nuevo Road (No. 3 on map) in Perris. There, the suspect vehicle made two attempts to ram a police car. The suspects than drove through a fence into a flood control channel at the intersection of Redlands Avenue and Citrus Avenue (No. 4 on map) and disappeared briefly. Those streets were closed during the search.

Soon after, police said, two suspects excited the vehicle after being located by K9 teams. They were taken into custody about 3:50 p.m. at Medical Center and Avocado Avenue (No. 5 on map).

The vehicle, identified as a 1999 Ford F250 with paper plates, was located in a tunnel under the roadway. It was later determined to be stolen from Menifee.