FRESNO – A man who allegedly got into a dispute with his estranged wife over their child is on the loose after getting away from police during a high-speed chase.
Around 10:30 a.m. on Friday, a fight between a man and a woman broke out in the parking lot of Century Elementary School. The man allegedly forced his estranged wife into a gray Toyota Camry, and then back out of the vehicle, according to the Clovis Police Department.
A witness told police that the woman hit her head, and was calling out “my baby” as she was pushed out of the car. An infant was in the back seat of the car, police said.
The man, believed to be 29-year-old Steve Castillo, drove the Camry east on El Paso Avenue, turned south on Fowler Avenue, and then drove south on Carson Avenue. He stopped at an apartment on Coventry Avenue, where a Clovis police officer confronted him, police said.
The man then got back into the car, now without the baby, and the police began pursuing him in their patrol vehicles. Speeds reached nearly 100 miles an hour, prompting police to eventually call off the chase for safety reasons.
Castillo’s estranged wife and their 2-year-old child have an emergency protective order against him. The grandmothers are taking care of the child until the situation is resolved, authorities said.
Anyone with information about the information or Castillo’s whereabouts should call the Clovis Police Department at (559) 324-2800 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP.
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