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Lemoore police assist Hanford officers in pursuit of suspects carrying weapons
Lemoore police officers were advised that Hanford police were responding to reports that multiple shots were fired from a vehicle in Hanford and people were seen running away. The vehicle was described as an older-white Chevy Impala with 4 to 5 occupants who wearing dark clothing. Lemoore officers responded to various parts of Lemoore in case the vehicle entered their jurisdiction.
Within minutes of getting the alert, a Lemoore officer spotted the car and began following it, noticing that it contained several occupants. The officer called for additional police units and followed the vehicle as it continued westbound on Highway198 and then northbound on Highway 41. The driver exited at Bush Street, where another officer got behind them. The Lemoore officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the driver fled.
The driver led officers on a pursuit through Lemoore while items, including two guns, were thrown from the vehicle. The two passengers fled from the vehicle at different locations during the pursuit. The driver, 20-year-old Raymundo Nava of Coalinga, stopped and was taken into custody. A 19-year-old Adrien Gutierrez was also taken into custody a short while away on Hill Street. The two firearms were also recovered by Lemoore officers.
The third suspect had fled the scene and officers from the California Highway Patrol, Kings County Sheriff’s Office, Kings County Narcotics Task Force, and Lemoore Police Department set up a perimeter in the area he was last spotted. Lemoore Police Department’s K-9, Ares, located the third suspect, 19-year-old Cecil Love of Hanford, hiding in heavy brush in a field. Love gave up when he saw the K-9, telling the officer he did not want to get bitten.
The pursuit lasted approximately six minutes and nobody was injured. The three suspects were arrested on numerous charges, including firearms charges. Nava was also arrested for a felony charge of evading officers. The three suspects and the two firearms were turned over to Hanford police detectives.
