Merced man questioned in toddler’s 2014 death, arrested after police chase

A Merced man questioned by police last year in connection with the death of a toddler was arrested Monday night in Atwater after crashing a miniature motorcycle into a police car after a brief chase, police said.

Jonathan K. Thao, 24, was booked into the Merced County jail on more than a dozen traffic-related allegations, as well as two outstanding misdemeanor warrants charging him with drug possession and theft. He was still in custody Tuesday at John Latorraca Correctional Facility on more than $115,000 bail, according to booking records.

Thao, 23, was riding a motorcycle in the wrong traffic lane just before 10:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Bellevue Road with no helmet and no lights and raced through a red light when officers tried to stop him, Lt. Samuel Joseph told the Sun-Star.

Police said Thao continued to ride the wrong way on East Bellevue Road until he reached Crest Road, where he moved back into the other traffic lane. He narrowly avoided striking two vehicles before turning south on to Buhach Road, Joseph said.

Thao then moved back into the oncoming lane of traffic and “continued driving erratically,” Joseph said.

Officers surrounded the rider with their vehicles, and Thao crashed into an Atwater police car. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center Merced for examination before being booked into jail, police said.

“These officers did a great job preventing further accidents and from anyone being severely injured, including the suspect,” Joseph said.

Thao was at the center of a high-profile investigation in November in Merced in which his friend’s 3-year-old son was killed. The case remains under investigation, said Merced police Detective Joe Deliman, the lead investigator in the case.

Santos Alvarez was killed Nov. 3 while he was with Thao, who was apparently baby-sitting for the boy’s mother, Sophoeun Alvarez. Thao told police the child was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant on West 13th Street. Thao said the vehicle left the scene without stopping.

Thao has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing by police, but Deliman on Tuesday said investigators have not ruled out the possibility of seeking criminal charges against him.

“We’re still waiting for (laboratory) results on some of the evidence in the case,” Deliman told the Sun-Star. “Once we get that back, we’ll take a look and consider sending it over to the (District Attorney’s Office) for review.”

Thao, at a candlelight vigil in November for the child, was speaking with the Sun-Star when relatives of the child accused him of “doing something to the baby,” which Thao denied.

During an subsequent interview with the Sun-Star, Thao admitted changing his story several times regarding his relationship to the child and his mother. Thao initially told police he was the boy’s father and described himself as Sophoeun Alvarez’s boyfriend. Neither statement was true, Thao later told the Sun-Star.

He said the pressure of the emotionally charged, frequently heated situation caused him to misspeak.

Efforts to reach Sophoeun Alvarez for comment were unsuccessful Tuesday.

This story was originally published March 17, 2015 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Merced man questioned in toddler’s 2014 death, arrested after police chase."