Victor Topete, of Pittsburg, California, had been charged with 15 felonies and three misdemeanor charges in connection to the two day chase that culminated on June 13, 2020
A California man led police on an insane two-day car chase that spanned multiple cities, carjackings and even a kidnapping.
Victor Topete, of Pittsburg, California, has been charged with 15 felonies and three misdemeanor charges in connection to the two day chase reminiscent of a scene out of the video game ‘Grand Theft Auto’ that culminated on June 13, 2020.
Footage of the police chase has only just been released, and Topete is expected to go on trial next year.
At the time, Topete was out on bail in a manslaughter case in Fresno. The case stems from an April arrest where he allegedly hit his 54-year-old neighbor during an argument. The victim died from the injuries from the fight, the Sacramento Bee reports.
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During the June car chase, Topete is said to have stolen a Ford F250 from his dad, driving the vehicle into a head-on collision off Fish Ranch Road in Orinda just moments after he had been driving in the wrong direction on the shoulder of Highway 24.
Topete crashed the F250 into an SUV being driven by Lafayette officer Kevin White, Mercury News reports.
‘When you saw the white truck coming at you, what did you think? What was going through your head?’ deputy district attorney Chris Sansoe asked White during his October preliminary hearing.
White replied: ‘That I was going to get seriously injured.’
Video shows Topete then exiting the vehicle and hopping a fence before dropping some 20ft to the pavement below, close to the Contra Costa side of the Caldecott Tunnel entrance.
Topete is said to have stolen a Ford F250 from his dad, driving the vehicle into a head-on collision off Fish Ranch Road in Orinda just moments after he had been driving in the wrong direction on the shoulder of Highway 24
Topete crashed the F250 into an SUV being driven by Lafayette Ofc. Kevin White
While attempting to dart across the freeway, Topete – wearing a neon green vest that he took from his father’s truck – was struck by a truck but continued with his effort to cross the road.
Topete allegedly tried to carjack one woman, failing to do so and having to go to another. Police shared that he approached a white car, whose driver proceeded to roll down his window, prompting Topete to reach inside the vehicle and unbuckle the man’s seatbelt.
The man later told authorities that he believed Topete to be a roadway worker because of his vest, according to testimony from Contra Costa Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Paredes.
Footage shows the man believed to be Topete wrapping his arms and legs around the door of the vehicle, which ad started moving. The car goes for a little before the man ultimately exits the vehicle.
While attempting to dart across the freeway, Topete – wearing a neon green vest that he took from his father’s truck – was struck by a truck but continued with his effort to cross the road
Footage shows a man believed to be Topete then carjacking a car and driving to Oakland before crashing the vehicle
‘The police are trying to hurt me. I need your car,’ Topete is said to have told the man, Paredes said during the preliminary hearing.
Topete then drove off in the car, going through the tunnel and getting on Highway 13. Driving to Oakland, he exited the freeway and attempted to get back on to go towards Berkeley, but crashed while merging into traffic, according to police.
Video shows the man believed to be Topete exiting the vehicle and darting back across the freeway.
Police say that Topete then hid in a shack at a nearby water treatment facility, but was detained after a K9 from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s department was sicced on him.
Police say that Topete then hid in a shack at a nearby water treatment facility, but was detained after a K9 was sicced on him
He was charged with attempting to injure a police animal after he was described as having tried to use his thumbs to gouge the dog’s eyes. Topete’s lawyer claimed that he was trying to get the dog off his leg.
Topete is accused of kidnapping his friend – a Pittsburg man – and stealing his car after asking for a ride. He is said to have then gone to parents’ house, taking his father’s truck from the scene. The truck had a Bobcat excavator attached on the trailer.
He had allegedly led police on a chase through Concord city in the truck but authorities stopped their pursuit when it appeared that the excavator was going to break loose.
‘I saw the tractor go left to right wobbling, that’s when I was like, ‘Enough is enough. There’s more value to life than chasing a stolen vehicle,” Concord Ofc. Isidro Llanos said during the hearing.
Topete is expected to go on trial next year.