A 21-year-old man accused of leading sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit along Interstate 10 in the Coachella Valley, ramming patrol vehicles before surrendering, was charged Monday with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and other offenses.
Jonathan Daniel Ortiz of Whittier was arrested Thursday following the roughly 12-mile chase.
Along with assault on a peace officer, Ortiz was charged with assault likely to cause great bodily injury, felony evading and eluding a law enforcement officer.
The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Benoit Detention Center, was slated to make his initial court appearance Monday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Multiple motorists in Indio called 911 shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday after they encountered Ortiz’s vehicle maneuvering erratically on streets, as though its operator was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Lt. Nicolas Lingle said deputies soon spotted the car and signaled Ortiz to pull over, but he fled instead.
Lingle alleged the defendant sped eastbound on I-10, nearly reaching the Cactus City Rest Stop before pulling over.
“At the end of the pursuit, the suspect intentionally backed his vehicle into deputies’ vehicles,” the lieutenant said.
He said Ortiz then got out of the car and was taken into custody without further incident. No deputies were injured, nor was the defendant.
There were no reports of damage to other vehicles during the chase or while Ortiz was on the streets of Indio.
He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.