Pursuit to end in ‘blood and bullets,’ Turlock man told police in Merced County chase
A Turlock man accused of opening fire at police during a high-speed chase repeatedly told a detective over the phone he was ready to die, according to a recording played in court Monday.
Wearing prison-issued clothing and in a wheelchair during a preliminary hearing in Merced County Superior Court, Kevin Mayhew sat in court next to an investigator who is working for him in his defense.
Mayhew, the 41-year-old son of Stanislaus County Judge William Mayhew, is representing himself in the case. He’s pleaded not guilty to attempted murder related to March 9, 2017, pursuit and shootout between Mayhew and law enforcement officers from three agencies.
“This is going to end with blood and bullets,” Mayhew is heard saying in a recorded phone call made during the pursuit. “It’s the only way it’s going to end.”
Mayhew waived his right to a public attorney in August after a doctor said he was mentally competent to stand trial, according to court records. He remained in Merced County Jail on Monday with bond set at $1.4 million.
On the day of the shooting, officers attempted to get Mayhew to leave his parents Turlock-area home and meet them at his own home on North Thor Street in Turlock, according to testimony. Mayhew did not meet the officers and left his parents home in a Lincoln sedan.
Officers attempted to stop Mayhew shortly after he left the house, which set off a 44-mile pursuit that ended in Snelling, police said. Turlock police Detective Jason Tosta spoke to Mayhew over the phone for several minutes, and a recording of the phone call was played in a preliminary hearing on Monday.
“You’re going to have to kill me. I’m armed,” Mayhew said in the recording. “I’m ready to go. ... I’m ready to rock and roll.”
Tosta can be heard pleading with Mayhew, saying the search warrant police had was for insurance fraud. The man had made insurance claims of stolen guns but police believed them to be fraudulent, Tosta said.
The defendant could then be heard laughing on the recording, joking that it would end up on the evening news. “If you’re going to kill me over being a suspect in insurance fraud, that’s awesome,” he said while laughing.
Mayhew said he had a brain aneurysm and had experienced suicidal thoughts recently before the March 2017 incident.
The insurance fraud investigation was spurred by a homicide investigation, Tosta said. Mayhew has been described as a “person of interest” in the Halloween 2016 shooting death of 30-year-old Juy Anthony Gastelo, who broke into the home on North Thor Street, investigators said.
The March 2017 pursuit ended on Snelling Road when Mayhew got out of the brown 2002 Lincoln he was driving and shot a deputy patrol car with an “assault-style rifle,” according to investigators.
The investigation report says the patrol car was struck once in the hood and once in the lower front bumper. A third bullet went through the windshield and into the driver’s seat headrest.
Two deputies were in the vehicle when Mayhew fired the shots. Six officers returned fire. Mayhew was stuck once and treated at a Modesto hospital for the injury.
No law enforcement officials were injured.
Prosecutors have said he faces up to 40 years in prison.