Photo: Stock Image
WALNUT CREEK —Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office deputies pursued and arrested a driver for allegedly committing two vehicular assaults. The trouble began at a shopping center in Alamo and ended when the suspect was arrested in Walnut Creek.
Deputies responded to Alamo Plaza Shopping Center on March 29, where a driver was ramming another occupied vehicle. This incident occurred in the parking lot shortly after 8:30 p.m.
When deputies arrived on the scene they saw the suspect outside of his vehicle, pounding on the other occupied vehicle. The suspect jumped back inside his vehicle and fled. He led deputies on a pursuit through the streets of Alamo, Danville, and finally into Walnut Creek.
Near the end of the pursuit, Walnut Creek police set up spike strips on the South Main Boulevard roadway. Instead of immediately stopping, the suspect allegedly reversed rapidly and rammed into a sheriff’s department patrol car—hitting it twice.
The suspect next exited his vehicle and fought with deputies attempting to detain him. Eventually, he was restrained, handcuffed, and arrested at 9 p.m. The suspect is Austin Gillen, a 35-year-old resident of Concord.
Gillen remains behind bars in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility in lieu of $380,000 bond. Gillen was booked for-
- Assault with a deadly weapon
- Hit and run causing property damage
- Assault with a deadly weapon on an on-duty police officer
- Resisting an officer
- Evading an officer with willful or wanton disregard for safety
