BARSTOW — A convicted felon accused is accused of driving recklessly through city streets while attempting to flee authorities and is scheduled to answer a felony charge in a Victorville courtroom Tuesday.
Justen Roman Hernandez, 24, is scheduled to be arraigned on a reckless evading charge, court records show. Hernandez and two others were arrested Friday morning. Police said he failed to yield during an attempted traffic enforcement stop.
Officer Nathanial Arias attempted to make the stop on a black Acura in the 200 block of Yucca Avenue for failure to display a license plate. Arias activated his overhead emergency lights and siren but the Acura did not pull over, police said. While fleeing, the Acura ran two stops signs, drove at high speeds and also crossed solid double yellow lines into oncoming traffic, authorities said.
The officer discontinued the pursuit in the 200 block of Pierce Avenue as the Acura made its way through a river bottom, police said. The Acura was later found stuck in the river bottom, just southeast of Waterman Road.
The Acura was abandoned and police notified BNSF police and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The agencies assisted in the search and officers found the Hernandez, the alleged driver of the Acura, in the 28400 block of U.S. Highway 58 and placed him under arrest without incident.
Police said Johnny Chambers and Anjelica Hernandez were later found hiding in a large bush near where Hernandez was located. Police searched the Acura and allegedly found a baggie containing a “white powdery substance” suspected to be approximately a quarter ounce of cocaine in the back seat, police said. Chambers, 24, later told police in an interview the cocaine belonged to him, police said.
A search of booking records Monday morning did not show results for Chambers. Police said he was booked at the Barstow Police Station on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.
While on scene, the officers found Jessica Maya, the registered owner of the vehicle, walking in the area. Police said Maya admitted to being a passenger inside the vehicle. Police learned Maya, 22, had an arrest warrant for burglary, a misdemeanor, and she was arrested without incident.
Booking records show she was released from custody later that day and did not immediately have a court appearance scheduled.
Police said Anjelica Hernandez was just a passenger in the Acura and she was not involved in any of the crimes and was released without charges.
Court records show Justen Hernandez was sentenced to a year in jail and three years of supervised probation in 2011 for assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm or by means of force likely to cause great bodily harm. In 2013 he was sentenced to three years in prison for a domestic violence charge, records show.
Justen Hernandez was being held at High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto in lieu of $100,000 bail, booking records show.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is asked to call Arias at 760-256-2211