Probationer charged with ramming Banning police car, fleeing in stolen Sedan

A 28-year-old probationer accused of ramming a Banning patrol car while fleeing in a stolen vehicle, then eluding law enforcement for a month, was charged today with assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon and other felonies.

Jessie Edward Robey of Yucaipa was arrested and booked Tuesday into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where he's being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Along with the assault count, Robey is charged with felony evading, eluding peace officers, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, vehicle theft and being in possession of controlled substances. He was slated to make his initial court appearance this afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.

According to Banning police spokeswoman Sol Avila, on the morning of Sept. 14, Robey passed out in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express on Ramsey Street, where he had parked an allegedly stolen Honda Civic.

Passers-by saw him slumped over the wheel and called 911, at which point patrol officers converged on the location and attempted to make contact with the defendant, Avila said.

She said that when they peered inside the vehicle, the officers spotted a handgun near Robey's lap, prompting one of the patrolmen to reach inside and seize it. The probationer was awakened and allegedly threw the sedan into gear,
running into a parked patrol unit with an officer inside, according to Avila.

The lawman was not hurt.

Robey fled the location with another patrol car in pursuit, heading into Cherry Valley, where he plowed into a residential fence, bringing the car chase to a halt. However, Robey allegedly bailed out and fled on foot, managing to escape the dragnet of Banning police officers and Riverside County sheriff's deputies, who arrived to assist, according to Avila.

The Honda was confirmed stolen, and Robey's identity was soon verified, prompting police to obtain a warrant for his arrest, Avila said.

He was tracked to a property in Yucaipa, where he was taken into custody without incident almost four weeks later.

The defendant's girlfriend was also arrested for unrelated felony and misdemeanor warrants, according to Avila. The woman is not charged in the assault.

According to court records, Robey has a prior conviction for receiving a stolen vehicle.