Atwater man leads police on high-speed chase in stolen car, officers say

A 32-year-old Atwater man surrendered to authorities early Friday after leading them on a high-speed chase in a stolen car, according to the Atwater Police Department.

Emmanuel Reyna, who has a reported history of stealing cars, spotted around 1:20 a.m. in the area of Maple and Atwater Boulevard after officers said he blew through a stop sign driving a black 1993 Honda Civic, Chief Samuel Joseph said.

The driver, later identified by police as Reyna, did not pull over when officers activated lights and sirens and sped west on Atwater Boulevard before racing onto northbound Highway 99, Joseph said.

The chase lasted about two minutes and reached speeds of more than 90 mph, Joseph told the Sun-Star, before the driver abruptly pulled over and stopped just south of Sultana Road where he was arrested without further incident, police said.

The car had been reported stolen in Atwater on Tuesday.

“The vehicle was spray painted black from the original red,” Joseph said.

Reyna was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, evading police, stolen-property possession, driving without a license and possession of burglary tools, according to jail records. He remained in custody Friday on more than $100,000 bail.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Atwater man leads police on high-speed chase in stolen car, officers say."