Woman who livestreamed fatal crash is in court for other crime

A woman convicted of a crash that killed her teenage sister and released on parole less than a month ago made her first court appearance Monday in San Joaquin County after she reportedly led police in a chase in Stockton last week.

Obdulia Sanchez, 20, appeared in a Stockton courtroom in an orange jail inmate jumpsuit. Her arraignment was postponed until Nov. 6.

The chase on Thursday ended when Sanchez crashed the 2005 Buick LaCrosse she was driving near Interstate 5, according to the Stockton Police Department. Officials say Sanchez was driving the car, and a male exited the Buick from the front passenger seat. The passenger ran from the crash across, at least, the freeway’s southbound lanes.

Sanchez was arrested at the scene, and officers found a loaded .45 caliber handgun in the glove compartment and a substance believed to be marijuana on the front passenger floorboard.

Sanchez, 20, of Stockton, is charged with evading police with “wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property,” being a felon in possession of a gun, unlawfully carrying a concealed and loaded gun in a vehicle, unlawfully possessing ammunition and driving with a suspended license, according to a criminal complaint filed by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.

Sanchez had gained notoriety two years ago when she livestreamed the crash that killed her sister and injured her sister’s friend near Los Banos.

Deputy District Attorney Frank Kooger asked the judge to keep Sanchez in custody without bail as she awaits prosecution. Kooger said Sanchez allegedly sped away from police, faces serious charges and should be considered a risk to skip bail.

Angela Johnson, Sanchez’s attorney, told the judge that she wasn’t going to object to the prosecutor’s request, at this time. The defense can ask the court to review Sanchez’s bail at a later date. But she asked the judge to postpone the arraignment.

San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Ronald Northup set Sanchez’s bail at $300,000. He said it’s the typical bail amount for these charges, and he felt it was appropriate in this case. He also agreed to postpone the arraignment until next month.

Nicandro Sanchez, the defendant’s father, attended Monday’s court hearing. He said he does not know what happened on the night his daughter was arrested last week. He said he warned her about driving with a suspended license, but she told him she was giving someone a ride.

“That’s why she ran away,” he explained about the police chase while speaking to a group of news reporters in the courthouse hallway after the hearing.

He said he was hurt when he heard his daughter had been arrested again, but he needs to help her. He said she had been working since her prison release, but he thinks she got involved with someone she shouldn’t have.

“I was surprised, because she shouldn’t have done what she did,” the father said in Spanish.

About 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Stockton police officers tried pulling over the car Sanchez was driving for a suspected traffic violation in the area of Rosemarie Lane and Piccardo Circle, near the Stockton Civic Theater.

Prosecutors said the Buick had an expired vehicle registration. They said the car initially slowed and yielded to the right, before it sped away and the chase began. During the pursuit, the Buick ran two stop signs and a stop light.