Man in stolen vehicle strikes Hercules officer in attempt to flee

Police arrested a 28-year-old Alameda man Wednesday after he allegedly hit an officer with a vehicle while trying to elude arrest.

Hercules police responded to a 9:15 a.m. report of a man bothering customers by playing loud music and asking for money at a Shell gas station in the 3900 block of San Pablo Avenue.

The first officer to arrive on the scene asked the suspect to turn down the music he was playing on his vehicle stereo. Police said the suspect complied but appeared agitated.

A second officer arrived and determined the suspect’s vehicle had been reported stolen Tuesday in Concord.

When the officer informed the suspect that he was being detained for possession of a stolen vehicle, the suspect resisted being removed from the vehicle and attempted to drive away.

The vehicle lurched forward and knocked to the ground one officer, police said, and both officers used their tasers without effect.

The suspect continued driving away and exited the parking lot, striking a vehicle on Sycamore Avenue. The driver of that vehicle was uninjured, and the suspect kept driving eastbound on Willow Avenue with officers in pursuit.

The officers lost sight of the suspect’s vehicle and ended the pursuit. The officer knocked to the ground by the suspect’s vehicle was treated for minor injuries and was released from a local hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries.

Less than two hours later, the suspect was apprehended by Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputies after they responded to a residential burglary in Rodeo. Deputies subsequently identified their suspected burglar — Donovan Patrick St. John — as the suspect in the Hercules incident.

Officers later found the stolen vehicle on Mariners Point in Rodeo with the officers’ taser wires still attached to it.

Hercules police took St. John into custody on suspicion of numerous violations, including assault with a deadly weapon upon a police officer, possession of a stolen vehicle, residential burglary, resisting arrest and hit and run.