Possibly armed driver eludes cops

Officers are asking for the public’s help in locating a male suspect who led officers on a high-speed chase and allegedly threw several guns out of a car window in and around Half Moon Bay Saturday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Around 1:30 p.m., an officer on patrol on state Highway 1 near Miramontes Point Road in Half Moon Bay pulled over a silver Mercedes SUV because it was missing its front license plate, CHP Officer Art Montiel said.

The vehicle yielded to the right but took off as soon as the officer stepped out of the cruiser, Montiel said.

The officer chased the car on Highway 1 at speeds of up to 90 mph and followed the car as it turned on Verde Road in San Mateo County, Montiel said.

Montiel said the officer watched as the occupants tossed two pistols and a high-powered rifle out of the car’s window. A passenger in the car — later identified as 30-year-old Roberto Sonoqui Carrillo — jumped out of the car in the area of Verde and Purisima Creek roads and tried to hide in an adjacent field.

The officer stopped to take Carrillo into custody while CHP’s fixed-wing airplane followed the car, Montiel said. The airplane followed the car back to Highway 1, where it turned onto Miramontes Point Road and ended up at the Moonridge residential community, where the driver jumped out of the vehicle and entered a residence.

Officers from Pacifica police’s canine unit and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted CHP officers in the search but Montiel said the suspect slipped away.

As of around 8:30 p.m., Montiel said the driver was still at large. He is presumed to be armed and dangerous, Montiel said.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male with a light complexion, slim build and a clean-shaven face. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt and a black baseball hat, Montiel said.

Carrillo was arrested on suspicion of evading police, carrying a loaded firearm, possessing an assault weapon, altering or obliterating a gun’s serial number, possessing a machine gun and possessing a firearm with a large-capacity magazine.

Anyone with information about the driver’s whereabouts is urged to call 911.