People v. McDaniel CA3

BACKGROUND

A highway patrol officer spotted defendant driving, along with a passenger, in a stolen Subaru Forester.2 The officer called for backup, and when it arrived, the officers attempted a traffic stop. Defendant saw the highway patrol’s flashing lights and accelerated. His passenger asked him to pull over so she could get out, but defendant did not stop. Defendant took the freeway exit and slowed to about 40 miles per hour. He then abruptly accelerated, ran a stop sign, and got back on the freeway. There, he drove at over 100 miles per hour, driving in an “[e]xtremely unsafe” manner “with no regard for [the] safety of anybody else on the road.” The officers finally stopped defendant by using a spike strip. Once apprehended, defendant said he had fled because he had a warrant and did not have a license. Inside the Subaru, the officers found methamphetamine, a spoon, and two syringes. A jury found defendant guilty of willfully evading an officer, possessing a controlled substance, and possessing drug paraphernalia. But the jury acquitted him of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle. The court found defendant had a prior strike for robbery in 1998 and had served four prior…