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Published on 08/14/1995 All articles from this issue

Los Altos police catch, arrest 2 after high-speed chase

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

An attempt at a routine traffic stop in Los Altos triggered a 13-mile high-speed chase on Highway 85 Aug. 6 that led to the arrest of two young men, police reported.

The officers tried to stop a Ford pickup truck at El Camino Real and Rengstorff Avenue for having an unrestrained passenger in the truck bed, said Los Altos Police Sgt. John Hughmanick.

The driver fled south onto Highway 85 at speeds above 100 mph. A second Los Altos police car joined the chase.

The passenger in the truck bed began heaving out objects at the cruisers.

"He tossed out a recycling bin. Then he threw out 35-40-pound metal engine cylinder heads, " Hughmanick said.

"The officers could see the things coming and had to take evasive action. Later they went back and retrieved the objects.

"When the passenger threw the items, the driver slowed, then accelerated and made a lane change. When the passenger got ready to throw again, the driver slowed down."

The driver pulled off the freeway and tried to hide in a driveway. He and the passenger were taken into custody without incident.

The driver, Shawn Stires, 20, a resident of San Jose, was arrested on charges of evading a police officer and reckless driving, assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence.

The passenger, Eddie Rochette, 19, also a San Jose resident, was arrested on charges of attempted murder of a police officer, assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence.

Both were in custody in the Santa Clara County Main Jail with bail of $20,000 last Thursday, a jail spokeswoman said. They appeared in court Monday.