Police pursue vehicle thief suspect Monday night through streets of Lemoore

On Monday night, November 16, at approximately 10 p.m., Officers from the Lemoore Police Department responded to East Hazelwood Drive concerning a subject who had attempted to steal a vehicle from an apartment complex. The alarm on the vehicle sounded when the subject attempted to steal the vehicle and the person ran from the scene, got into a gold Honda, and left the area.

Lemoore officers saturated the area and a corporal from the police department located a gold-colored Honda in the area of Sara Drive and Meadow Place. Upon running the license plate through a state data base the vehicle returned as being a stolen vehicle that had been reported a couple hours earlier to the California Highway Patrol.

The vehicle had two occupants inside. The passenger in the vehicle, Manuel Nunes, age 30, from Mendota exited the vehicle and was ultimately detained while the driver of the vehicle, Brandee Phillips, age 29, also from Mendota fled the scene inside the vehicle.

A sergeant from the Lemoore Police Department spotted the vehicle and attempted to catch up to the car as it reached a high rate of speed through the neighborhood. Phillips ultimately collided with a fire hydrant in the neighborhood, and fled on foot.

A perimeter of the neighborhood was established and a Kings County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was summoned to the scene. Phillips subsequently surrendered after police told the woman a K-9 was after her.

Phillips was treated for injuries from the collision and subsequently booked at the Kings County Jail for theft of a vehicle, possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen property, hit and run, resisting or delaying an officer in the performance of his/her duties, and failure to obey a lawful order or signal by a police officer. Phillips bail was set at $70,000. 

The passenger in the vehicle at the original scene was determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance. He was cited for the violation and released.

This investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be requested through the Kings County District Attorney's Office.