Yuba man to be sentenced in January

Just a few weeks before he was set to stand trial, Shawn Larry Markure pleaded no contest to three felony charges stemming from his 2011 run-in with state game wardens after a high-speed chase near Elk Creek.

Markure, 37, of Yuba City, will be sentenced Jan. 18 for reckless driving while fleeing a peace officer, deterring a peace officer and child endangerment.

He pleaded no contest to the charges in Glenn County Superior Court on Nov. 8 in exchange for having nearly 60 other felony charges dismissed, including assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon and special allegations that could have sent him to prison for decades.

Game wardens reportedly tried to stop Markure just west of Elk Creek around 2 a.m. on July 22, 2011 for a vehicle code violation, but he tried to escape at speeds in excess of 100 mph, officials said.

Markure, who had the child of a friend in his car, was chased through the Grindstone Rancheria for a short distance before he turned his vehicle around and drove it directly at the warden.

The vehicles collided head-on, but no injuries were reported and damage to both cars was described as minor to moderate.

Markure, who was booked into Glenn County Jail with numerous facial lacerations, later claimed he was beaten by officers while handcuffed.

State officials said an investigation did not substantiate the allegation, and that the level of force used in the arrest was determined by the level of Markure's resistance.

Markure could face one to three years in county jail, officials said.