Photo: Luis Cimentel
Luis Cimentel has been on Tulare County Sheriff’s Top 10 Most Wanted list since April 2017 when he escaped arrest after seriously injuring an arresting officer. His attempts to flee incarceration did not work on January 3rd.
Around 1:30 AM, officers responded to a call of a suspicious man and woman by a car parked at Tulare’s Red Roof Inn. Upon arrival, officers made contact with Cimentel and the woman. They ran the plates of the car and discovered not only that the plates did not match the vehicle, but the car was stolen.
History repeated itself when officers tried to handcuff Cimentel, as he attempted to run. Officers held on but he continued to resist arrest. One of the officers took out a taser which Cimentel tried to take away from the officer.
Ultimately the officer regained full control of the taser and a baton was used to try to subdue the suspect but he got away. Cimentel leaped over a wall and narrowly missed being tased.
Cimentel found himself surrounded by officers in a nearby parking lot. He was tased but tried again to take the taser away from the officer. A fourth officer sealed Cimentel’s fate as he helped tackle him to the ground and eventually place him under arrest.
After receiving treatment for a bruises and minor cuts at Kaweah Delta Medical Center, he was transported to the Tulare County Pretrial Facility with a $75,000 bail. He has court on January 4th to account for his charges which include felony assault, providing false information to a peace officer, and being in possessing of a stolen car.
