Full Notification

On Thursday, May 5, 2022, at approximately 6:55 a.m., Officers were dispatched to a call of a male subject sleeping behind the wheel of a vehicle in a parking lot located at a gas station at 101 North Tully Road. Officers arrived on scene and located a vehicle that matched the description given, a black Nissan sedan. Officers suspected the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and could see there was a male behind the wheel who was awake and moving inside.

Officers spoke with the driver, through heavily tinted glass, ordering him to open the driver door. For unknown reasons, the driver refused to open the door. Officers then opened the drivers’ door from the exterior and began giving the man orders to get out. The driver ignored these orders and began to drive the vehicle in reverse.

Officers gave the driver clear directions to stop, which he ignored. As the vehicle was driving in reverse it struck one of the officers, who was not injured, and managed to move away from the vehicle and out of immediate danger. A short distance away, the vehicle came to a stop as it struck a pole near the gas pumps.

The driver then accelerated out of the gas station parking lot and a vehicle pursuit began. The driver fled northbound on Highway 99, exiting onto eastbound Fulkerth Road. As the driver turned north onto North Golden State Boulevard, near Pedras Road, the vehicle pursuit was terminated in an effort to prevent any potential injury to other motorists or pedestrians in the area. The driver continued toward Keyes as officers trailed behind, not pursuing the vehicle but actively searching for it.
Several minutes later, the vehicle was located parked in Keyes. When officers attempted to contact the driver a second time, the vehicle fled again, nearly striking a different officer and hitting a parked police motorcycle. After searching the immediate area, the driver and vehicle were not located.

A short time later, the vehicle was located abandoned in Ceres. Due to the nature of the crimes committed, officers responded to the location of the vehicle and seized it as evidence to be processed after obtaining a search warrant. As a matter of standard practice and law, the vehicle was not searched at that time and was stored in a vehicle evidence bay at the Public Safety Facility.

On Wednesday afternoon, May 11, 2022, after obtaining a search warrant to search the vehicle, officers began to process and search the vehicle for evidence that would tie the unknown driver to the crimes he committed. During this search, an improvised explosive device (IED) was located inside the passenger compartment, which caused for a partial evacuation of the Public Safety Facility.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was called to the Public Safety Facility to recover the device from the vehicle. The explosive device was removed from the vehicle, later analyzed and confirmed to be an explosive.

Through on-going investigations, the driver was positively identified as Turlock resident Jonathan Alan Lewis, 23 years-old. Lewis will be facing charges of aggravated assault, hit and run, evading an officer, resisting arrest and possession of a destructive device.

Lewis was arrested Friday afternoon in Solano County after he led local authorities on another pursuit which ended in a vehicle collision. In addition to the charges he is facing in Stanislaus County, Lewis will also be facing additional criminal charges in Solano County.

Turlock Police Detectives, Investigators with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad and Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) served a search warrant at Lewis’ apartment Friday evening in the 900 block of Pedras Road. Additional evidence connected to Lewis’ crimes was located and seized by police.

Officer Fortado said, “In an effort to maintain the safety of the community and within a short window of time, the collaboration of multiple law enforcement agencies working together made it possible to bring this dangerous situation to a safe conclusion.”

The Turlock Police Department asks that anyone with information about this investigation to call Officer Richard Fortado at (209) 664-7399. You can also contact the Turlock Police Department’s Tip Line at (209) 668-5550 extension 6780 or email at [email protected].

The Turlock Police Department is an active participant in the Crime Stoppers Program. Callers can leave an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at (209) 521-4636 and may be eligible for a cash reward.
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This information is being released by Turlock Police Department Sergeant Michael Parmley.

Any media requests should contact: Sergeant Michael Parmley
Office of Professional Standards Turlock Police Department
Office phone - (209) 664-7345 Email – [email protected]