Car chase results in prison sentence

CLOVIS — A Clovis man who led police on a 30-minute car chase through the city in January has been convicted and sentenced to 9 1/2 years in the Department of Corrections.

Michael Padilla, 38, was convicted Monday by a Clovis jury of aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, reckless driving and other traffic offenses, according to a news release from District Attorney Andrea Reeb.

The chase began the afternoon of Jan. 25 after police saw Padilla's vehicle “dropping tools on the roadway” and attempted a traffic stop.

Records show Padilla “began to dart in and out of oncoming traffic” as he drove through residential streets of Clovis. He stopped the vehicle after it sustained a flat tire and attempted to run away from officers, records show.

Padilla represented himself at trial, according to the news release.

District Judge Matt Chandler, who is retiring from the bench next month, sentenced Padilla.

According to the criminal complaint filed in January:

• 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 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.