Short Pursuit Ends with Arrest, Recovery of Stolen Gun, and Illegal Drugs

This morning just before 9:00 A.M., an officer on patrol noticed a suspicious car and driver in a residential neighborhood near Peach/Shaw. The driver sped away after seeing 2 police cars and spun out at Willow/Santa Ana as he tried to get away. At that time, our officers tried pulling the car over, but the driver sped away again. The pursuit ended a short distance away on Willow, south of Shaw, when an officer used a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver. As officers attempted to complete a high-risk traffic stop and have the driver get out of the car, the driver continued to ignore the officer's instructions, even punching out the sunroof of his car while yelling and screaming. At one point, the driver backed into one of the police cars causing damage. As the driver tried to get out of the broken sunroof against officer's instructions, officers used non-lethal "pepper ball" rounds and took him into custody without further incident.

When searching the driver's car, officers found a loaded, stolen handgun on the front seat along with, drug paraphernalia, and illegal drugs. The driver has been identified as 44-year-old Ivan Rangel of Fresno. Rangel has been booked into Fresno County Jail for several felonies, including possession of the loaded stolen handgun, evading, violation of probation, possession of a controlled substance, and 2 felony warrants.

The stolen handgun and evidence have been collected, and the driver's car was towed. Thank you to the Fresno Police Department's Traffic Unit for their assistance.