A parolee who allegedly initially failed to yield when Murrieta police attempted to pull him over was behind bars Friday.
Officers sought to pull over the driver of a 1995 GMC Suburban at about 10:53 a.m. as he headed into Temecula on Madison Avenue south of Murrieta Hot Springs Road.
He ultimately yielded to officers after turning left onto Guava Street, a dead end, according to Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad.
"After contacting the driver and front passenger, officers learned the driver was a parolee at large wanted by the California Department of Corrections," Conrad said in a news release.
The passenger also was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for driving on a suspended or revoked license, the lieutenant said. The passenger, Juan Mendez, 36, of Oceanside, was citied for the warrant and released at the scene, he said.
The driver, Matthew Lee Grant, 37, of Sun Valley, was arrested and booked at on suspicion of violating his parole, Conrad said.
The stop was initially conducted for an alleged vehicle code violation, Conrad said.
Because Grant "failed to yield in a timely manner to the officer's lights and siren," he was additionally cited for failing to comply with a law enforcement order, a misdemeanor, Conrad said.
Officers conducted a search of the car while they detained both Grant and Mendez.
"In this case, the reason is twofold…after an arrest, a vehicle is searched...and in this case, the driver, a parolee, has terms of his parole that allow law enforcement to search his vehicle," Conrad said, in an email to Patch.
The SUV, which had Washington plates, was towed and stored following the arrest, Conrad said.
