TAFT — Two men are finally in custody after evading arrest and leading sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed pursuit through the City of Taft last Wednesday.
Preston McAvinue, 21, and 29-year-old Shaun Cowan were both booked into the Taft City Jail for conspiracy, evading and resisting or delaying a peace officer. McAvinue was also booked for assault with a deadly weapon.
According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the two were arrested on Wednesday, April 15 in connection with an investigation into an assault with a deadly weapon that occurred in the 100 block of Naylor Avenue in south Taft on April 12.
Deputies said that McAvinue had been involved in a verbal confrontation with his girlfriend and her 51-year old father that night, before he allegedly threw a brick, causing the father to fall, striking his head and rendering him unconscious. “The suspect then fled the scene, before deputies arrived,” said KCSO Public Information Officer Ray Pruitt.
Shaun Cowan
Two days later, the sheriff’s department received anonymous information that McAvinue and another male, later identified as Cowan, were parked in a vehicle at the Fastlane Store on Harrison Street in Taft.
“When deputies arrived, they located the vehicle, driven by Cowan, that took off as they approached,” Pruitt said. “A pursuit ensued, which ended a short time later with the driver of the vehicle escaping into the hills east of the city.”
Cowan and McAvinue were eventually captured a short time later after being found hiding in some bushes in nearby Valley Acres.
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