Tuolumne truck theft suspect caught after chase, crash

A Taser was used to capture a vehicle theft suspect who drove into a dirt-road embankment in Tuolumne County on Tuesday morning yet continued to try to escape deputies, authorities said.

After his capture, 29-year-old transient Chace Wanamaker was taken to Sonora Regional Medical Center to be medically cleared. He then was booked into the Tuolumne County Jail on charges of vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, theft from an elder, evading a peace officer, grand theft, hit and run, obstructing or resisting a peace officer, possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia.

Shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers got a call from Pine Mountain Lake Security reporting a suspicious person walking door to door asking for fuel. The man was driving a blue Chevrolet truck. Dispatchers ran the license plate and called the registered owner.

Meanwhile, deputies found the truck in the Tioga High School parking lot and followed it onto Highway 120 until they received confirmation the vehicle was reported stolen in Groveland. As the driver turned onto Old Highway 120, he struck an unoccupied AT&T truck parked on Yosemite Springs Road.

Deputies told Wanamaker to get out of the truck. Instead, he put the vehicle in reverse and drove off with deputies in pursuit.

Wanamaker went on Yosemite Springs Road for about a half-mile before turning right onto a dirt road and sliding into an embankment. Deputies again ordered him to get out of the truck, but instead he tried accelerating to free it from the embankment.

Deputies then subdued Wanamaker with the Taser.

Wanamaker also was booked on a misdemeanor warrant for theft and possession of a controlled substance and two outstanding felony no-bail warrants for failing to appear on drug and burglary charges.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Tuolumne truck theft suspect caught after chase, crash."