A Florida man is accused of leading a felony pursuit that began in Joshua Tree National Park, traveled through the Morongo Basin and ended on the far side of the Sheephole Valley Wilderness.
Yesterday (January 10) at around 10 a.m., Park Rangers report that they attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Nissan driving on the wrong side of the road, somewhere within the bounds of Joshua Tree National Park.
The suspect – Daniel Commander, a 47 year-old resident of Florida – refused to pull over, which is considered a Felony Failure To Yield. Park Rangers requested assistance from the County Sheriff’s Office, and Deputies joined the pursuit.
The suspect left the National Park, driving north on Park Ave, and then went east on Highway 62, passing through Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms, and Sheephole Valley Wilderness, before heading south on Route 177. Deputies say that Commander exceeded 100 mph during the pursuit, and that high winds prevented the use of helicopters.
Deputies used a Pursuit Intervention Technique, in which a patrol car physically impacts the suspect’s car at a slow speed, to force Commander to stop driving. Deputies say that after he stopped, Commander refused to exit the vehicle, so Deputies broke the car’s windows, removed him, and arrested him.
Commander received minor cuts from the broken glass.
Daniel Commander was arrested for investigation into Felony Evasion and booked into the Morongo Basin Jail with bail set at $250,000
