Gang Member on Parole Sentenced to Prison Following High Speed Pursuit and Recovery of a Firearm

Defendant Mateo Julian Sandoval, 22 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced to a seven year four month prison term by the Honorable Dana Simonds on April 16 following his no contest plea in March of this year to charges of felony evading, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “This defendant has evaded police in the past and committed other crimes that have led to state prison commitments.  He is legally prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.  We take this conduct seriously, and believe the sentence is appropriate.”

The charges stem from an incident on August 11, 2018, where an alert Santa Rosa police officer recognized a vehicle, driven by the defendant, as being similar to one involved in a recent shooting.  As the officer began to follow the vehicle, the defendant pulled in to a coffee shop drive-thru.  While the officer waited in the parking lot for the defendant to exit, a concerned citizen informed the officer that there was a suspicious vehicle behind him in the drive-thru, and that the driver had tossed something heavy in to the nearby bushes.

As the defendant exited the drive-thru, the officer attempted to make a traffic stop. The defendant refused to pull over and led the officer on a four mile high speed pursuit. The pursuit ended after the defendant lost control of his vehicle and struck two other occupied cars.  Following the defendant’s arrest, officers returned to the coffee shop and recovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun in the bushes. Testing confirmed the presence of the defendant’s DNA on the loaded firearm.

At the time of this pursuit, the defendant was on parole for a prior vehicle pursuit that ended in a wreck which injured passengers.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Christopher Brown. The Santa Rosa Police Department headed the investigation.