Atwater man evades police after pursuit on ATV. Police seeking public’s help

A wanted Atwater man and former gang member received help as he evaded police Tuesday night during a pursuit that started with an ATV and ended on foot, the Atwater Police Department reported.

Atwater police received a report of an ATV driving recklessly at 8:14 p.m. to the Save Mart shopping center, Chief Samuel Joseph said in a statement.

As Officer Jason Dasilva was heading toward the location, he saw a white Suzuki ATV driving through a parking lot. He identified the rider as Eric Avila, who, according to police, is a former gang associate wanted on at least two warrants.

Dasilva activated police lights and sirens, but Avila didn’t yield, according to the statement. Avila then led Dasilva on a seven-minute pursuit through residential neighborhoods, police said.

At first heading to his home on the 1400 block of Underwood Avenue, Avila turned around and headed onto southbound Fifth Street, running through a stop sign in the process. The chase was headed toward the 1400 block of Underwood Avenue, police said, but the rider turned around headed south on Fifth Street. The rider blew past a stop sign before heading west on Spruce Avenue.

The rider ignored red traffic light on Seventh Street. He turned west on Bellevue Road and ran through the intersection with Winton Way, momentarily losing control and clipping the sidewalk, police said.

He then took the ATV into the 99 Cent Store parking lot, circling the lot, exiting onto southbound Winton Way, reaching speeds of about 60 mph. The chase wound through several streets before the rider abandoned the ATV and ran west on Olive Avenue, police said.

At some point during the chase, according to police, 25-year-old H.E. Botwright helped Avila escape. It wasn’t clear exactly how Botwright may have assisted Avila.

Botwright was located and arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting.

Avila remained on the run Wednesday afternoon, police said.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Atwater man evades police after pursuit on ATV. Police seeking public’s help."