Tool theft suspects booked after chase

Two San Francisco men were arrested in Windsor after a brief pursuit with law enforcement that began when a deputy found them in a parking lot and was nearly struck by their car, authorities said.

Police said the suspects had construction tools in the car when the patrol deputy approached them around 3:20 a.m. Friday in the closed parking lot of the Windsor Palms shopping center on Old Redwood Highway south of downtown.

He inquired about their names and was walking back to his own vehicle to confirm the driver's name when the suspect car was started up, put in reverse and nearly hit him, police said.

The vehicle then struck the squad car as the driver fled, heading south on Old Redwood Highway at speeds reaching 80 mph, with the deputy in pursuit.

By the time the suspect turned left onto East Shiloh

Road and reached the closed gates at Shiloh Ridge Estates, other deputies had arrived. The suspect car attempted a U-turn but got hung up on landscaping rocks. The two inside bailed out but were caught after a brief foot chase, police said.

Authorities traced the tools in their car to two unreported auto burglaries in Windsor, they said.

Deputies arrested Carlos Gutierres, 29, the driver, for suspected assault with a deadly weapon, evasion, burglary, possession of stolen property, grand theft and conspiracy. He remained in the custody of the Sonoma County jail on Saturday, with bail of $50,000.

The other man, Nelson Rivera-Ajca, 25, was arrested for suspected possession of stolen property, burglary, grand theft, conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance. He was not listed among the jail inmates on Saturday.