At about 10:18pm Tuesday, Turlock Police responded to a dangerous driver at Memory Lane and Geer Road.

The caller reported they were following a vehicle that was driving recklessly and hitting curbs. They also provided a license plate which returned to a locally stolen vehicle.

After a few minutes of driving around various residential streets in the area, the stolen vehicle made its way to the 5000 block of N. Walnut Road, just outside the city. Its driver, later identified as Armando Araujo, 18, of Turlock, then exited the vehicle and began throwing rocks at the caller’s vehicle.

Several officers arrived in the area and converged on Araujo as he had gotten back into the stolen vehicle and began to drive off.

When the officers attempted to stop Araujo, he drove off from them through an orchard and a pursuit was initiated.

The pursuit made its way to the 5600 block of Mountain View Road, where Araujo swerved directly toward the driver’s door of a vehicle parked on the side of the road, causing its driver to accelerate forward to avoid a collision. This act constituted an aggravated assault and placed the vehicle’s driver in immediate fear of great bodily injury. He later came forward as a victim and Araujo was appropriately charged for the act.

After several minutes of driving at low speeds, the sheriff’s helicopter got overhead as Araujo entered another orchard in the 3900 block of Mountain View Road just outside Hughson and struck a tree. Araujo then leg-bailed from the stolen vehicle and led officers on a brief foot pursuit before he was ultimately apprehended with no use of force.

Araujo was originally believed to be a juvenile, however, it was quickly discovered he had just become an adult a couple of weeks prior. It was also discovered the stolen vehicle’s owner was Araujo’s father and Araujo was unlicensed.

American Medical Response was requested for a check out and they found no medical issues.

Araujo was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of fleeing from a peace officer by vehicle with disregard for public safety, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, auto theft, buying or receiving a stolen vehicle, fleeing from a peace officer by vehicle against traffic, resisting a peace officer, and driving without a valid license.

The stolen vehicle was released to Araujo’s father who responded to the termination point.