Police identify theft suspect arrested after high-speed chase through valley

A police chase ended on I-10 at Date Palm Drive Thursday morning. Officers reopened the interstate at about 10 a.m. after a brief closure.

36-year old Riverside resident, Raul Tamayo was arrested and booked into the Riverside County jail in Indio for possession of stolen property, felony evading, as well as theft related charges. Tamayo also had an active vehicle theft warrant out of San Bernardino County. Due to the active vehicle theft investigation Tamayo’s booking photo, is not available at this time.

According to Deputy Armando Munoz, sheriff’s deputies responded at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to a report of a theft at a business in the 79200 block of Highway 111 in La Quinta.

The theft investigation yielded a suspect vehicle description and license plate number, which matched that of a car reported stolen from Palm Springs earlier in the day, Munoz said. About 10 minutes after sheriff’s deputies responded to the La Quinta business, the car was spotted by a sheriff’s deputy near Highway 111 and Portola Avenue in Palm Desert, leading to a pursuit on westbound Interstate 10, as well as surface streets through the cities of Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, Munoz said.

At about 10 a.m., Tamayo pulled over near the Date Palm Drive on-ramp in Cathedral City and surrendered without incident. According to Munoz, no deputies or civilians were injured during the pursuit.

Tamayo is expected to make his initial court appearance in Indio on Monday afternoon. He was being held at the Riverside County jail in Indio in lieu of $475,000 bail, according to jail records.

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