The man accused of stealing a 2017 Polaris Ranger side-by-side utility task vehicle from Glenn Colusa Irrigation District in July will also face felony charges of evading law enforcement with willful disregard for the safety of people or property, along with a misdemeanor charge of hit and run.
Colusa County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thomspon found there was sufficient evidence for Jose De Jesus Leos, 43, of Williams, to face additional charges following a preliminary hearing on Monday.
Leos was arrested July 11 and charged with stealing the $15,000 utility vehicle from the CDID yard in Williams sometime the night before.
Colusa County Sheriff’s Deputy Kane Lausten testified that Leos was identified from surveillance footage, and when law enforcement arrived to search his Williams home, he and a passenger fled the premises on the Polaris, which had been spray painted red, and led three law enforcement vehicles on a pursuit through Williams.
According to testimony at the hearing, Leos drove into a field west of E Street, circled back into town, and drove through private property, once coming within feet of a child’s play yard before striking a parked vehicle.
According to Sgt. Matthew Purcell, who was following the Polaris in an unmarked Sheriff’s vehicle with lights and sirens on, the driver managed to evade him, Williams Police Lt. Chris Miller, also in an unmarked police vehicle, and Sheriff Sgt. Luiz Ruiz, who was driving a marked Sheriff’s unit with lights and sirens blaring.
Just after losing sight of the Polaris, officers received a report of a hit and run occurring at a home near the corner Venice and Sutter Streets.
Purcell said the Polaris was found a short time later abandoned on Hankins Road after it was driven through private property and got hung up on an oleander stump.
Leos was tracked down and taken into custody and charged with vehicle theft, felony evading a peace officer, hit and run, violation of probation, including failure to comply with a court order.
Leos is to be arraigned on Nov. 21. He could also be sentenced for violating probation on a 2021 felony assault conviction. â–