Ventura – The only difference between the events taking place on the afternoon of August 4th on the downtown streets of Ventura—just a stone’s throw from thousands of vacationers enjoying a warm summer day at the city’s famed Surfrider Beach—and the fantastic action of the latest installment of the feature film franchise “Fast and the Furious” is that the latter is pure fiction, replete with high-speed vehicles careening wildly through an urban landscape, while the former turned into a deadly game of “catch me if you can” as cops did their best to arrest a wanted suspect without endangering the very real lives of those in proximity to the action.
It all began when the Ventura Police Department Street Crimes Unit learned that Robert Reeves, a 38-year old local resident wanted on a felony arrest warrant, was living nearby on the outskirts of the city’s downtown commercial district. Pursuant to that information, VPD officers and detectives conducted surveillance of the location where Reeves was suspected to be in hiding. When, according to the Ventura Police Department Watch Commander media report, a vehicle driven by Donald Reyes, 47, arrived at the location and Reeves entered the car as a passenger, a traffic stop was initiated.
Reyes, however, was apparently having none of it and accelerated away “at a high rate of speed” through busy downtown streets. A brief pursuit immediately ensued, but was quickly terminated “due to the reckless manner” in which Reyes was driving. While law enforcement maintained visual contact with the suspect vehicle, air units and VPD K-9 units established a perimeter around the area.
Ten minutes later local residents reported via 911 Emergency dispatch the presence of “a suspicious male running through yards,” which brought officers to the scene, where they quickly found Reyes attempting to hide from view. Reyes’ abandoned vehicle was soon located, where indications were that Reeves had fled on foot into a Paloma Drive residence. With detectives, officers, and K-9 units quickly flooding the area, Reeves and a third man, Rocky Mattley, 28, were soon located “hiding in a converted garage” and in possession of a pair of handguns.
All three were arrested and transported to Ventura County Jail, where Reyes was booked on charges of felony evading and an outstanding felony warrant, Reeves was booked on the outstanding felony warrant and resisting arrest, and Mattley was booked for resisting arrest. All three have “additional charges pending” pursuant to the illegal possession of firearms.
Image: courtesy www.activision.com
