Burglary gone wrong – Nelson stole the homeowner’s car after getting caught in a burglary (Tuolumne SD)
Transients are a part of every city. However, this report show how close to home it can come. In Columbia, which is a large town in Tuolumne County, a homeowner experienced a close connection with one homeless man set on stealing his property.
On Monday, November 23 in the early morning hours, a homeowner in Columbia reported that he was asleep in his home when he heard a noise downstairs. Upon checking to see what it was, he discovered someone was inside attempting to burglarize the residence.
Brandon Scott Nelson booking photo
According to Sergeant Deborah Moss of the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office, the homeowner contacted dispatch and deputies responded to the scene. The suspect, later identified as Brandon Scott Nelson, 26, then stole the homeowner’s vehicle from the attached garage, and while attempting to escape from the scene, collided with two fully marked, occupied patrol vehicles that were responding to the call.
Nelson then led deputies in a vehicle pursuit. During the chase, Nelson drove at unsafe speeds, crossing into the opposite lane of traffic. The pursuit ended when Nelson drove the vehicle down an embankment, rolling it over.
When the deputies caught up with Nelson at the bottom of the embankment, he was uncooperative and resisted arrest. He was taken into custody nonetheless, arrested and brought to the hospital for treatment. Nelson was booked and is being held on charges of burglary, vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause great bodily injury, batter on a peace officer, and evading with wanton disregard for public safety.
He is being held at Tuolumne County Jail on $40,000 bail. The deputies involved in the collisions were not injured.
