Charges for California driver who led police on wild pursuit

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors filed multiple charges against a 33-year-old parolee who stole several cars and rammed police cruisers last week during an hourlong chase across Southern California that ended with an officer shooting at him.

Johnny Anchondo faces felony and misdemeanor counts including carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, hit-and-run and possession of a controlled substance, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

It wasn’t immediately known if Anchondo, of Moreno Valley, has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.

Prosecutors said Anchondo was on parole for attempted carjacking when he led police on a wild pursuit in Orange and Los Angeles counties on Nov. 16. He started out driving a sedan and then stole a van before running inside a home in Whittier where he confronted a family and took their pickup truck.

The pickup sideswiped vehicles as it swerved through traffic before stopping at a gas station, where it smashed into a patrol car, prompting authorities to fire several shots through the driver’s window. The driver was not hit.

Anchondo could face more than 50 years in prison if convicted on all counts, the DA’s office said.