Two pursuits, two days
Douglas Raymond Curl didn't want to go to jail.
Having been arrested four times previously for driving under the influence of alcohol, the 47-year-old Artois resident made the decision Thursday to try and out run three Glenn County sheriff's deputies and two officers from the California Highway Patrol, sheriff officials said Friday.
The pursuit ended badly and with a lot of damage to property, they said, but fortunately no one was badly hurt.
Sheriff's Sgt. Todd James said he only planned to pull Curl over for motor vehicle violations around 11:24 a.m. Thursday near Old Highway 99W and County Road 53.
"The driver did not want to stop," James said.
Instead, Curl took James and backup units on a 27.5-mile high-speed chase over county roads that eventually resulted in two crashes involving CHP cars.
Curl, who was driving a Ford Taurus, reached speeds of 105 mph, James reported.
The pursuit ended after Curl led James and the other officers to his residence at 3066 County Road 99W, where Curl rammed his car head-on into a CHP patrol car while attempting to flee, James said.
The CHP car spun around and completely sheared off a power pole, James said.
Curl eventually tried to make a run for it, but James said he used his patrol car to pin Curl against the car door with his bumper.
James said Curl was arrested and treated for minor injuries at Glenn Medical Center in Willows before being booked into the Glenn County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol with three or more priors.
He was also arrested for two counts of evading a peace officer causing injury and assault with a deadly weapon other than a fire, which force likely to cause great bodily injury.
His bail was set at $228,000.
The CHP officers rammed at the end of the pursuit was taken to Glenn Medical Center with complaint of pain. He has since been released, James said.
Another CHP officer, who was responding to help in the pursuit, was involved in a separate car accident, the CHP said. There was no injury in that case.
It was the second pursuit for Glenn County law enforcement officers in two days.
Gary Lee Helton Jr., 43, also didn't want to go to jail.
The Orland man, wanted by the state for fleeing his parole officer a few days earlier, took deputies on a slow pursuit through the Orland Livestock Auction yard and county roads around 7 a.m. on Wednesday before escaping on foot in a orchard.
He was later arrested after running directly into the path of Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones on County Road 99W.
Deputies had only attempted to stop Helton, Instead he failed to stop at a posted intersection with the old highway, Jones said.
Helton reportedly continued to wind through the area of the auction yard and eventually made his way to county Road J.
Helton eventually led officers to his home in the 3800 block of Road J, where he reportedly exited his car, ignored all verbal commands to stop, and then ran through a gate in a fence.
Jones said Helton ran into the olive orchard near his home, where he managed to escape the deputy following him.
A nearby resident reported seeing a man jumping a fence into the Parts-R-Us east of the orchard, and a second citizen reported a man ran under the railroad tracks via a culvert near County Road 99W.
As units were responding to the area, Helton reportedly ran out into the road directly in front of Jones, who took Helton into custody at gunpoint.
Jones said an inventory search of Helton's vehicle revealed property related to a burglary reported Sunday.
Helton was booked into Glenn County Jail in Willows for investigation of possession of burglary tools and evading a peace officer, both misdemeanors, and knowingly possessing stolen property, which is a felony.
His bail was set at $15,000, but he was held on the parole violation.
