Clovis man arrested following car chase

CLOVIS - A car chase that went throughout Clovis Monday afternoon landed a Clovis man in jail on 11 charges, according to court records.

Michael Padilla, 37, was booked Monday into the Curry County Adult Detention Center, where he remains with a pretrial detention motion hearing pending. His charges include false imprisonment, battery upon a peace officer, reckless driving and aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer.

The public defender's office was appointed to Padilla's case, but court records do not indicate a specific attorney assigned as of Wednesday. He made his first appearance Wednesday afternoon in Curry County Magistrate Court.

The Clovis Police Department did not respond to Monday inquiries from The News regarding the chase.

According to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday in magistrate court:

• An officer traveling south on Main Street encountered a maroon Suburban going north with its rear hatch open. The officer turned around and flashed emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle, and noted objects fell from the rear area of the vehicle.

• The vehicle appeared to slow down about 12th and Main, then sped off down 12th Street. The officer noticed one tire was flat and recognized the driver as Padilla from prior interactions.

• The chase continued down more than a dozen streets, and BNSF Railways property adjacent to the railroad tracks, before Padilla stopped his vehicle on the 1600 block of Sheldon and attempted to flee on foot.

• A pair of officers pursued Padilla, who attempted to fight with one of the officers before he was tased.

• A passenger in the Suburban was told of the initial reason for the stop. She said the two were in the process of buying the vehicle, and wasn't sure why Padilla attempted to flee. The officer later learned the passenger had been contacting dispatch during the pursuit and trying to tell Padilla to stop.

• The officer went back to the beginning point of the pursuit, and located two handbags and an air compressor he believed to be the objects that fell from the vehicle.

Court records indicate Padilla is awaiting trial on charges of receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer from July of last year. He was charged on two different occasions in 2018 for resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, pleading guilty to one and having another dismissed via plea agreement.