Murrieta Chase

MURRIETA (CNS) – A probationer allegedly led Murrieta police on a three-mile pursuit through the city in a stolen vehicle that ultimately crashed at an intersection, injuring a total of eight people, including himself, authorities said Wednesday.

Ricardo Avila Perez, 31, of Perris, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony evading, possession of methamphetamine for sale, auto theft and probation violations. Perez was not immediately booked into jail due to his injuries.

The pursuit happened shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday, beginning less than a block from the Murrieta Police Department, at Jefferson Avenue and Juniper Street, according to a police statement.

Perez was passing through the intersection when he committed a traffic violation, prompting a patrol unit to initiate an enforcement stop, discovering in the process that the sedan had been reported stolen, police said.

“As officers approached the vehicle to make contact with its two occupants, the driver of the stolen vehicle sped away,” the police department stated.

Patrol officers gave chase, and Perez slowed down as if he intended to pull over but didn’t, and police said the pursuit went northbound.

“The pursuit continued on city streets, subsequently ending when the suspect vehicle ran a red light at the intersection of Nutmeg Street and Jackson Avenue, colliding with three other vehicles,” police said.

Six people in the three vehicles involved in the collision suffered non-life-threatening injuries, along with Perez and the woman in the vehicle with him, according to authorities.

The parties’ identities were not released.

All were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment and were expected to fully recover.

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