MAN LEADS DEPUTIES ON LOW-SPEED CHASE THROUGH YUCCA VALLEY, JOSHUA TREE MONDAY NIGHT

A mentally unstable man led police on a low-speed pursuit through Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree yesterday. According to a Sheriff’s report, the man made suicidal and homicidal statements to counselors at the Crisis Walk-In Center in Yucca Valley shortly before 7 p.m., saying he had a gun at home that he would use on anyone who talked to him. When deputies arrived, the man, whom Z107.7 is choosing not to identify, became agitated, then left the center in his 1993 GMC truck. Trailed by at least a dozen law enforcement vehicles, the man refused to stop as he headed east through Yucca Valley, Yucca Mesa and Joshua Tree on paved and dirt roads, at speeds ranging from 13 to 55 miles per hour. The driver finally stopped his vehicle when he got to Sunfair Dry Lake area. Again the man refused to follow deputies’ commands and attempted to grab a deputy’s baton, before he was finally taken into custody. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center for evaluation and will be charged with failure to yield, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer.