Cell Phone Stop Triggers Police Chase

A routine cell phone stop triggered a police chase involving about a dozen deputies today.

The suspect, whose identity officials did not release, was stopped for talking on his cell phone while driving, according to a officer.

The suspect stopped his car at the Chevron gas station on Front Street near Rancho California Road, then ran off, said CHP Officer Mike McCracken.

Officials shortly realized he was a Moreno Valley man wanted for an outstanding warrant and violating probation, according to deputies on the scene.

He was with a woman when he was stopped, who ran in a different direction, a witness said.

The suspect ran north on Jefferson Road to the Hampton Inn and Suites, and the woman run south behind the Denny’s restaurant, said Paul Gonzales, an Anza resident who saw the incident.

The suspect nonchalantly walked through the front door of the hotel’s lobby and out the back door, said Nadia Steddom, a witness in the hotel.

“He walked through very casually,” she said.

Deputies searched Jefferson Avenue for about half an hour. Though sheriff’s officials were unable to confirm whether they caught the suspect, jail records show nobody was arrested on Jefferson Avenue today.

CORRECTION: CHP Officer Mike McCracken was misidentified as Officer Cracken in a previous version of this story.