People v. Miles CA2/1

BACKGROUND

On February 16, 2022, defendant was driving a stolen black Mercedes. When police officers tried to stop him, defendant drove recklessly through a residential neighborhood and then proceeded onto the 101 Freeway. Defendant did not stop at stop signs, swerved in and out of lanes, drove at an unsafe speed, crossed double yellow lines, drove on the wrong side of the street, and drove on a sidewalk. Police pursued defendant in a marked black and white vehicle with red and blue lights and siren activated. One officer in a vehicle pursuing defendant testified that he was wearing a police uniform at the time of the pursuit. A second marked police vehicle followed the first, and a police helicopter tracked defendant from the air. The second marked vehicle also had its lights and sirens activated. Police terminated the pursuit when it became unsafe, but later captured defendant when alerted to his location by an officer in the police helicopter. After he was apprehended, defendant told police that he had ingested methamphetamine. A subsequent examination revealed he was not high on methamphetamine. While defendant was transported in the police vehicle, he was yelling at himself…