Pittsburg man gets 24 years in prison for spree including carjacking, chase

MARTINEZ >> A Pittsburg man will serve 24 years in state prison after pleading no contest to six felonies related to a wild 2020 police chase that seemed to defy physics and common sense.

Victor Topete, 29, pleaded no contest to two carjackings, attempted carjacking, assaulting a peace officer, assaulting a police K9 and evading police by driving the wrong way on the freeway, court records show. He also admitted to a prior burglary conviction as part of the deal with Contra Costa prosecutors.

Topete’s June 2020 crime spree was mostly caught on camera. It started when he allegedly carjacked a friend, then stole a car from a family member and led police on chases in Pittsburg and Concord, but that was only the beginning.

Police identified Topete driving a stolen truck in central Contra Costa on June 13, 2020, then chased him through Lafayette and Orinda. He drove the wrong way on Highway 24, then got on Fish Ranch Road and collided head-on with a police vehicle.

He then got out of the stolen pickup unscathed, jumped off a 20-foot ledge, ran across the highway near the Caldecott Tunnel entrance, and somehow convinced a motorist to briefly stop. As the motorist realized Topete was trying to carjack him, he attempted to drive off, but Topete clung to the moving vehicle, somehow ejected the driver, and sped off in his newly-acquired stolen car.

Topete then led police onto Highway 13 in Oakland, where he crashed into an oncoming motorist, and once again ran across the highway and up a hill, where he attempted to hide from police. When officers caught up with him hiding in a shed, Topete allegedly attempted to gouge out a police dog’s eyes.

Now that the Contra Costa case has settled, Topete still has pending involuntary manslaughter charges to face in Fresno County, stemming from when he allegedly punched a man in the head, causing the victim to fall and fatally strike his head on an object on the ground. Topete was out on bail in those charges when the June 2020 crime spree occurred.