Photo: Christopher Moreno
On May 14, 2020, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division found who they were looking for: 24-year old Christopher Moreno of Salinas.
Moreno is a member of a Salinas gang and currently on Post Release Community Supervision for illegal possession of a firearm. Moreno did not want to be found.
When detectives initiated a traffic stop as he drove his car on Country Meadows Road in Prunedale, he booked it.
Moreno drove recklessly, reaching speeds over 100 mph. When he got to the city of Salinas, he stole a vehicle and continued the pursuit south on Highway 101. He would not pull over, despite repeated efforts by detectives to stop him.
He continued driving recklessly at high speeds until he drove through a fence on a ranch property on the 28000 block of Encinal Road.
SWAT was called, along with the California Highway Patrol, to assist in the search. Although the stolen vehicle was located, the large rural property allowed Moreno to evade custody that day.
On May 20, 2020, Moreno was arrested on the 200 block of Central Avenue in Salinas. He was booked at the Monterey County Jail for violating his Post Release Community Supervision, evading and resisting law enforcement, vehicle theft, burglary, looting, and weapons charges.
Moreno remains in custody at the Monterey County Jail as of the time of this writing.
Photo from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office
