Solvang Man Arrested after Highway Pursuit
High-Speed Chase Ends Near Gaviota with Minor Injuries
[Update, 5:13 p.m., August 18] The suspect was originally pulled over for speeding.
[Original Story]
A routine enforcement stop for a vehicle code violation on Highway 101 southbound at Mariposa Reina resulted in a high-speed chase after a CHP officer spotted drug paraphernalia in 25-year-old driver Emanuel Garibay-Padilla’s car Thursday midday. The suspect resisted arrest, physically confronting the officer, who called for back up. Although a Sheriff’s deputy arrived in assistance, Garibay-Padilla fled southbound on Highway 101 in his original vehicle. The pursuit reached 100-miles-per-hour speeds, with the suspect turning around in the Refugio area and continuing to flee on 101 northbound. Just north of the Gaviota Tunnel, the CHP deployed a spike strip, which forced the suspect to stop his car 10 feet off the exit ramp in the dirt.
Garibay-Padilla of Solvang was taken into custody on charges of felony evading, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, threats of violence against a peace officer, and battery on a peace officer.
After the pursuit, the suspect and both officers were treated for minor injuries sustained during the initial fight.
