Deputies abort freeway chase, utilize helicopter to help nab car theft suspect

A stolen car suspect was arrested after leading officers on a pursuit Saturday from the city of Sonoma to Novato in Marin County, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

The auto theft was reported to Sonoma police between 6 and 6:30 p.m. and sheriff’s deputies spotted and pursued the vehicle, but called it off “due to the suspect’s increasingly reckless driving behavior” that included driving southbound on the shoulder of northbound U.S. Highway 101, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Sheriff’s Department helicopter Henry-1, which had been on routine patrol in Santa Rosa, tracked the car as it continued into Marin County and left the freeway in Novato.

After the car was disabled by spike strips deployed by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the driver fled on foot but was taken into custody by Marin deputies.