NOVATO – On Thursday, February 4 at approximately 1:15 pm, a Novato Police Officer saw a driver commit vehicle violations in the vicinity of the 5700 block of Nave Drive. The officer observed that two males occupied the vehicle as he initiated an enforcement stop.
The 5700 block of Nave Drive, where the suspects were pulled over.
The suspect vehicle then suddenly accelerated and attempted to evade the officer. A records check revealed that the car had been stolen out of Oakland. A brief vehicle pursuit ensued.
The suspect vehicle then traveled into the Los Robles mobile home park where the car collided with a carport and storage shed at a dead end on Barcelona Drive. Both structures were demolished in the crash. The two occupants of the car immediately fled on foot. The patrol officer quickly apprehended the driver without incident after a brief foot pursuit.
The pursuit ended inside the Los Robles Mobile Home park.
NPD officers on Nave Drive located the passenger about 13 minutes later. The second suspect attempted to evade apprehension but was taken into custody after being subdued by a Taser device.
The driver of the suspect vehicle was identified as 28-year-old Timothy Howard Melchior of Novato. He was arrested and booked into Marin County Jail pursuant to an outstanding felony arrest warrant, suspicion of evading a peace officer, suspicion of driving under the influence, suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, suspicion of possession of burglary tools, and numerous vehicle code violations. His bail has been set at $10,000.
Melchior had been arrested on December 28 for DUI and violations of his post release supervision. Records show that Melchior has been arrested no less than 18 times over the past ten years. In September 2005 he was charged with possession of drugs and stolen property. That was followed by arrests in 2006 for vehicle theft, burglary, trespassing, possession of stolen property, escaping from custody and contempt of court. Several years of additional arrests for drug charges, burglary, and parole violations led up to the most recent arrest.
Bret “Topp” Hatt – images from Facebook
The passenger of the vehicle was identified as 33-year-old Bret Allan Hatt of Novato and was also booked into Marin County Jail for suspicion of resisting a peace officer, and suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle. His bail has been set at $50,000.
Hatt has a record with law enforcement that dwarfs even Melchior. He has been arrested at least 30 times over the past 10 years. Recent incidents include an arrest in July for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and for possession of stolen property. He had another firearms charge in April, and parole violations in February and March. In December 2013 he was charged with disturbing the peace fighting, and possession of a switchblade knife. Older records show arrests for burglary in 2005, 2007, 2009, battery and resisting arrest in 2008, and several parole or probation violations, drug charges, and resisting arrest.
The officers involved in the incident were Officer McCready and Lt. Collins, both of Novato Police Department.
