From the Moraga PD:
On 09/25/15 at 1039 hours, a Moraga police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a red older model Chevrolet Suburban that he observed driving recklessly in the area of Moraga Road and Donald Drive. The officer turned on his emergency lights and attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver of the vehicle failed to stop.
The vehicle was driven for over a mile without stopping, while the officer was driving behind it. When the driver turned on to northbound Moraga Road, he sped up and attempted to flee from the officer. The officer, who was assisted by a second Moraga officer, turned his siren on and pursued the vehicle on Moraga Road and into Lafayette The driver turned east onto Mt. Diablo Blvd. and then over the center median at First Street, where the driver took a short detour through a portion of the Whole Foods Lot before continuing north on First Street towards Deerhill Road. The driver made a left turn onto westbound Deerhill Road and then a left turn onto the westbound 24 Hwy on ramp. The driver drove over the island and started driving the wrong way on the off ramp from westbound Highway 24. When this occurred, the officers immediately stopped pursuing the vehicle.
Within less than a minute of the pursuit being stopped, the driver crashed into a freeway sign, went down a dirt embankment, through a chain link fence, and crashed into an unoccupied, parked vehicle. The driver ran from the vehicle and onto First Street, where he was arrested by a Lafayette Police officer who was responding to assist in the incident.
The investigation of this incident revealed that the vehicle had been stolen earlier in the day in Lafayette. Additionally, officers found a loaded handgun in the vehicle. The gun had been inside a vehicle that had been reported stolen to the Dublin Police early this morning. This vehicle was located dumped near where the vehicle was stolen in Lafayette. In essence, it appears that the suspect had stolen a car and gun in Dublin, drove to Lafayette where he dumped the first car and stole another, and then drove into Moraga, where the officer attempted to stop him. It is unknown why the suspect had driven into Moraga.
The suspect, identified as Samuel Bailey, 25, of Martinez, did not suffer any obvious injuries, but complained of pain and was medically cleared before being booked into the Contra Costa County Jail on charges that include vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, evading a peace officer and probation violations.
Many thanks to the officers from Lafayette Police, Orinda Police and the CHP who assisted our officers today. This is a good example of the excellent working relationships that are shared by all of the law enforcement agencies in the Lamorinda area.