VALLEY POLICE BEAT: Man jumps from vehicle By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer
Monday, January 5, 2009 12:27 AM PST
WESTMORLAND — A burglary suspect wearing handcuffs jumped out of a moving patrol car Sunday while he was being taken to the police station here.
Mario Banales, a 19-year-old transient who authorities believe has a prior history of run-ins with Brawley police, will likely face felony charges of resisting arrest following his 2:03 p.m. flight from Westmorland police Officer Fred Beltran Jr.
A man thought to be Banales was captured on a surveillance camera pilfering three cigarette cartons from a Circle K convenience store Friday while the clerk was occupied, Beltran said. The suspect “nonchalantly” moved behind the counter and took the items, the officer said.
On Sunday Imperial County Sheriff’s deputies spotted Banales on Cady Road a few miles south of Westmorland, Beltran said. He did not know how the suspect got there.
After Beltran went to pick Banales up from the location, the suspect, who has a slender physique, managed to bring his bound wrists under and over his legs while riding in the back of the patrol car, Beltran said.
Banales then rolled down a rear window that was not secured by a window lock and opened the car door from the outside, Beltran said. The car was traveling 30 to 40 mph on Center Drive when Banales jumped out.
A perimeter was set up near a warehouse at Forrester and Baughman roads south of town.
Banales was found about an hour later at a home in the 100 block of Bonita Street in Westmorland after a residential burglary alarm was set off, Beltran said.
Banales was still handcuffed when found. He was arrested at the scene.
Two injured in rollover on I-8
WINTERHAVEN — Two Calexico men suffered injuries Saturday when the minivan they were traveling in flipped over into the center divider off westbound Interstate 8 near here, a California Highway Patrol officer said Sunday.
Martin Rodriguez Mora, 41, suffered internal injuries and was flown to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, said Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Webb.
Cristobal Esparza Soto, 56, was flown to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs for unspecified injuries. Both Mora and Soto were traveling with five other people.
All the occupants were fieldworkers who were heading west on the highway when a right rear tire apparently blew out, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to roll over, Webb said. The accident occurred west of Gordons Well Road.
Everyone inside the 1992 Ford Aerostar was wearing seat belts except Mora. The conditions of the other occupants were not known at press time Sunday. Webb said no one was ejected during the 2:03 p.m. accident.
" I know mario banales since 2004 he was always in trouble at high school he did not make it through his freshman year. His parents are very decent people they both work so hard what I dont understand is why mario is still in the valley he ones told me he had a resident alien card. I know that if he is a resident alien with a felony ( or more in this case )he could be deported to mexico I dont understand what is going on with this laws and what ever happend with the three strike law this guy has more than three strikes. Why is he always out of jail. "
socrates619 wrote on Jan 5, 2009 3:56 PM:
" my2cents
is there anything as such a good criminal? what a moron. pesonally, i think he was stupid, he got caught, twice. "
elvic5_0005 wrote on Jan 5, 2009 3:14 PM:
" Bad comment "my2cents".Think twice of you say before you put it for puiblic view. "
my2cents wrote on Jan 5, 2009 12:54 PM:
" WOW, Banales did all this while he was only 20 inches away from the cop? GOOD CRIMINAL - BAD COP! "
Log on
If you have an account already, just enter your Member ID and Password to access this page.
If you're new to our site, please create a new account.
Register FREE
To use certain features of ivpressonline.com, you must register FREE on the form provided. The Imperial Valley Press’ use of any personally identifying information you provide as part of registration is governed by the following privacy policy:
ivpressonline.com does not, and will not, release your personal information to any third party without your consent. We may, however, share some of the information we gather, in aggregate or demographic form, with advertisers and other partners. That is, we may provide general information about ways people use our site without identifying any particular individuals.
The opinions above are from readers of ivpressonline.com and in no way represent the views of the Imperial Valley Press staff or Schurz Communications Inc.
ivpressonline.com encourages readers to offer their opinions on our local stories. We ask readers keep their comments on topic and avoid derogatory comments about fellow readers. Our goal is to promote a civil discussion about the news.
We will never edit or alter comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain:
Subscribe Get the Imperial Valley Press every morning at your home or office. Start a subscription for your family, for yourself or give it to someone special. Click here.
Text Message AlertsReceive text message alerts on breaking news, latest updates, sports scores, offers and much more on your cellphone or PDA. Sign up here.
RegisterRegister free and start receiving email alerts on breaking news, a sneak preview of upcoming stories, reminders and much more. Click here to begin.
About UsWant to know more about the Imperial Valley Press? Want to contact us? Get general and contact information. Click here.
lvr13 wrote on Jan 5, 2009 7:14 PM: