SALINAS — The Monterey County DA’s Office has sentenced Jorge Lupian (26) of Salinas to 3 years in state prison for police evasion and operating a chop shop in Salinas.
It all began on April 12th of last year, when Salinas police noticed a car pulling out of a Circle K gas station parking lot without its headlights on. When a stop was attempted, the vehicle accelerated and led officers on a high-speed pursuit for four-and-a-half miles down Old Stage Road, reaching up to 80 mph.
A PIT move was finally conducted and the suspect, identified as Lupian, surrendered.
Later, on January 11th of this year, a Salinas officer patrolling Belhaven Street just after midnight witnessed Lupian using a grinder to cut into one of the tires on a 1986 Chevrolet truck. When asked what he was doing, Lupian claimed to have been asked to remove parts from the truck but would not explain further. The officer noted that Lupian had removed the lug nuts to all four wheels.
Further investigation revealed that not only had the truck been reported stolen, but so had the Nissan that Lupian had driven to the scene. When searched, Lupian was found to have eight shaved car keys in his possession.
Unfortunately for him, Lupian was already awaiting sentencing for the evasion charge when he was discovered with the Chevy truck.
