Merced County gang member captured after manhunt, two car chases, deputies say

A man described by authorities as a dangerous gang-member was captured Saturday after two car chases through Merced County ended with damaged police vehicles and an injured sheriff’s dog, officials reported.

During the incident there was also a slower-speed chase with an infant inside the suspect’s car.

Carlos Villegas, 27, eventually was captured in Turlock by the Sheriff’s Tactical and Reconnaissance Team, just days after Sheriff Vern Warnke announced the team’s reinstatement. The team essentially had been defunct for the last four years while the Sheriff’s Office struggled with low staffing.

The STAR Team actually wasn’t supposed to be back in service formally until Sept. 17 but the group, led by Sgt. Clint Landrum, hit the ground running Saturday.

The manhunt was triggered after a traffic stop around 9:30 a.m. in Winton. Deputy Damien Sparks, who also is a STAR Team member, stopped a tan Honda sedan. The driver, later identified by authorities as Villegas, gave the deputy a phony driver’s license, Landrum said.

After confirming the license was a fake, the deputy ordered all three occupants to get out of the car and planned to have his K9 partner, Zeke, examine the car for drugs, Landrum said.

But as Sparks approached, the driver pulled away from Sparks and ran around the Honda toward the passenger side door. The deputy deployed his stun gun after the driver appeared to be going for a weapon, but the stun gun had no effect, Landrum said.

The man scrambled back into the Honda and fled, leaving behind his infant son and 27-year-old girlfriend. After the chase, deputies returned to locate the woman and the child but they were gone, authorities said.

A pursuit followed as deputies tailed Villegas, who drove through rural Winton and Livingston, cutting through an empty Livingston park, before merging on northbound Highway 99. He eventually stopped in the parking lot of the 7Eleven store in Delhi.

Villegas exited out of the passenger side door and again reached for his pocket as if he were going for a weapon, deputies said.

Sparks then sent Zeke to take the driver into custody, Landrum said. The driver got back in the car and slammed the car door on Zeke as the dog tried to enter the vehicle. The door slammed on Zeke, injuring his shoulders and neck.

Villegas then drove out of the crowded parking lot onto a sidewalk.

“People were walking around the area, so we terminated the pursuit at that point,” Landrum said.

The STAR team went back to the Sheriff’s Office where they went to work to identify the driver and eventually confirmed it was Villegas, who they described as a gang member wanted on multiple felony warrants.

STAR investigators tracked Villegas to an orchard in the Winton area, locating again him just before 5 p.m. Villegas was inside the same Honda and his girlfriend and infant son also were inside, deputies said.

Villegas again fled authorities, leading them on a second, low-speed chase.

The pursuit went from the orchard to Santa Fe Drive through Cressey and Ballico before turning onto East Avenue toward Turlock, Landrum said.

While on East Avenue, Villegas ran into a patrol car and continued into Turlock until deputies boxed him in the 200 block of North Broadway, near the Turlock Police Department headquarters.

“It was somewhat slow speeds because of the infant and the woman in the car,” Landrum said. “But he did, obviously, drive dangerously.”

While boxed in, Villegas drove into another patrol car but stopped long enough for deputies to open one of the car doors to get the woman and the infant out, Landrum said. Villegas hit the accelerator, driving over a deputy’s foot before crashing into a tree.

Villegas exited the vehicle through the driver side window and again started reaching as if he had a firearm, stating that he wasn’t going back to jail, “no matter what,” Landrum said. A deputy deployed a stun gun, which incapacitated Villegas, and he was taken into custody.

Villegas was taken to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock for treatment of injuries from the crash, Landrum said. Villegas was expected to be arrested following medical attention.

The deputy whose foot was run over did not report injuries, Landrum said. Zeke, the sheriff’s dog, was taken to a local veterinarian hospital. He was released a short time later.

“Zeke will be out of service for a while, but he’ll be fine,” Landrum said.

The woman and her infant son didn’t report injuries, deputies said.

Landrum said Saturday’s manhunt was exactly the type of situation for which the STAR was reformed. Landrum said the sheriff has told the team its mission is to “go out and make this county an uncomfortable place for gang members.”

The members of the team include Landrum, Sparks, K9 Zeke, Julio Ibarra, Nasir Wali and Joe Royel.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 10:18 PM.