DHS stolen vehicle pursuit driver pleads guilty, charges dropped against passenger

A man and woman arrested last month following a Desert Hot Springs stolen vehicle pursuit experienced vastly different fates Thursday, with the woman behind the wheel heading to prison, while charges of being an accessory in a murder were dropped against the man.

Christian Salas, 24, was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest in connection with the August 24 afternoon chase, as well as being an accessory in a murder and manslaughter case dating back to March. A criminal complaint stated that Salas aided a man in concealing the crimes, the details of which were unavailable.

Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case against Salas on Thursday, citing a lack of a material witness. He remains in custody in connection with a trio of unrelated misdemeanor cases.

Angelica Cortina, 22, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was immediately sentenced to two years in prison, while an evading arrest charge was dismissed.

The chase began just before 3 p.m. after police spotted the car — which had no license plates and had been stolen in Nevada — near Palm Drive and Dillon Road, according to DHS police Detective Christopher Tooth.

The driver, later identified as Cortina, allegedly refused to pull over, triggering the chase, which ended when her passengers, Salas and Juan Carlos Dorado, 29, fled from the car. Bubbling Wells Elementary School was placed on lockdown while authorities searched for Salas and Dorado, who were taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies on Camino Campanero, just west of the school.

Officers found “numerous rounds of live ammunition and a replica firearm” inside the vehicle, Tooth said.

A fourth person inside the car was released and will not face criminal charges, he said.

Dorado, who is due in court Friday, is charged with firearm possession and resisting arrest.