The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Grand theft auto leads to three-county police chase

By Steve Enders

When Sunnyvale Public Safety officers arrived on the scene at a suspected auto burglary Dec. 29, they didn't expect to become involved in a chase that would eventually cover more than 130 miles.

Officers were checking out a tip at 4:55 a.m. that two men were stealing the wheels off a car at a condominium complex on Evelyn Terrace.

When officers arrived at the scene, a gray 1989 Nissan Sentra turned around and came at them.

Officer Tracy Hern, who was on foot, was hit by the car, and the chase was on. Hern suffered bruises on the hand and leg.

According to Capt. Steve Pigott, officers in three other squad cars surrounding the complex followed the Nissan as it sped away.

The car turned onto Evelyn and then went south on Wolfe Road, where it connected with Highway 280 and went north. The suspects led California Highway Patrol officers to eastbound Highway 92, then to northbound Highway 101 to South San Francisco. They then sped west on I-380, then south on 280 to San Jose to I-680 north, made a U-turn at Capitol Expressway and went south on I-680 to U.S. 101, heading south toward Gilroy.

The suspects were finally stopped south of Highway 25 near Gilroy, when the men tried to turn around across the median of U.S. 101.

As the suspects' car reduced speed, a CHP officer rammed it from behind, pushing it sideways. The car was then boxed in by other officers and the chase finally ended, but not before the suspect ran the Nissan into the other officers' cars.

CHP public affairs officer Rich Stewart said that besides the Nissan, three of the eight police cars that participated in the three-county chase sustained damage.

At speeds of more than 100 mph, the pursuit lasted about 90 minutes and at times involved as many as 10 police cars. Officers from Redwood City, San Jose and Gilroy also assisted in the chase at different points.

Officer Hern was treated and released from El Camino Hospital in Mountain View.

The two men, 19-year-old Russell-Chi Yeh and Brent Russell, 20, are both charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, grand theft, conspiracy, felony evasion, possession of burglary tools and vehicle theft.

Stewart said the Nissan the suspects were driving had been stolen. Both men are being held at the Santa Clara County Main Jail on $50,000 bail each.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 7, 1998.
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