Two Ceres officers were injured in a high speed chase that ran from Ceres to the Lassen and Dallas area of South Modesto Thursday morning before 7 a.m.
Ceres Police Deputy Chief of Police Mike Borges said that the suspect was apprehended after he crashed a stolen 1991 white Toyota pickup into a fence and parked cars. He was identified as Rexford Gunkel, 36.
Borges said that the chase started when a Modesto Bee carrier called 911 at 6:30 a.m. to report that a driver was following her. Police met the victim and as they were questioning her, the pickup rolled by. Officers followed Gunkel who initially pulled over in the 1000 block of Moffet Road, then gunned the gas pedal as the officer approached. The pursuit went down southbound Moffet Road. During the pursuit, the driver ran stop signs and traffic signals.
During the chase the suspect tried to hit a patrol car by swerving out of his lane. The officer was able to avoid losing control of the patrol car.
The driver of the stolen car lost control and crashed into a mailbox, fence and carport with parked cars in the 1000 block of Lassen Avenue. He then bolted on foot but was later captured in a backyard where he violently resisted arrest. The two injured officers, whose names were not available, were treated and released. One sustained an injury to his head when he ran into a pole in a yard. The other officer sustained injuries to his hand while wrestling with the suspect and could be off week for six to eight weeks, said Borges.
Gunkel was charged with auto theft, possession of stolen property, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a peace officer, delaying an officer, felony vandalism and evading an officer.
Ceres Police Deputy Chief of Police Mike Borges said that the suspect was apprehended after he crashed a stolen 1991 white Toyota pickup into a fence and parked cars. He was identified as Rexford Gunkel, 36.
Borges said that the chase started when a Modesto Bee carrier called 911 at 6:30 a.m. to report that a driver was following her. Police met the victim and as they were questioning her, the pickup rolled by. Officers followed Gunkel who initially pulled over in the 1000 block of Moffet Road, then gunned the gas pedal as the officer approached. The pursuit went down southbound Moffet Road. During the pursuit, the driver ran stop signs and traffic signals.
During the chase the suspect tried to hit a patrol car by swerving out of his lane. The officer was able to avoid losing control of the patrol car.
The driver of the stolen car lost control and crashed into a mailbox, fence and carport with parked cars in the 1000 block of Lassen Avenue. He then bolted on foot but was later captured in a backyard where he violently resisted arrest. The two injured officers, whose names were not available, were treated and released. One sustained an injury to his head when he ran into a pole in a yard. The other officer sustained injuries to his hand while wrestling with the suspect and could be off week for six to eight weeks, said Borges.
Gunkel was charged with auto theft, possession of stolen property, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a peace officer, delaying an officer, felony vandalism and evading an officer.
