Hitchhiker found with keys to crashed car following Monterey County chase, cops say

By Ricardo Tovar

Click here for updates on this story

    OAK HILLS, California (KSBW) — Salinas Police said an overnight chase resulted in the arrest of three suspects.

At around 11:15 p.m., Salinas Police said they tried to stop a vehicle that took off from them. CHP joined in on the chase once it got onto Highway 101.

The car began driving erratically, so the chase was terminated, said police. The vehicle was later found crashed in the Oak Hills area.

A Salinas Police drone was set up, and using a heat sensor, two suspects were found and arrested. Vanessa Rios, 30, and Guillermo Martinez, 21, were then arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail.

They were both booked into Monterey County Jail.

Two hours later, the driver of the vehicle was found on Highway 156 by Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies. The suspect, Juan Anaya, 27, was found with the keys to the crashed vehicle in his pocket, said police.

Anaya was arrested and booked into Monterey County Jail. His bail was set at $37,500, per police.

He is facing charges of evading a peace officer and disregarding safety, obstructing a peace officer, post-release revocation, violation of probation and possession of a controlled substance, per the Monterey County Jail.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.