Man arrested after Paso Robles police car chase ends in collision with detective’s vehicle
Paso Robles police arrested two men Wednesday night after a pursuit ended with a head-on collision between a detective’s vehicle and a vehicle driven by one of the suspects.
Police received a report of gunshots heard at the Dry Creek Apartment Complex on Coral Creek Avenue around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Paso Robles Police Department Facebook post.
Shortly after, police said, they received a report that a man had smashed the windows of a car with a baseball bat at the same apartment complex.
According to police, the witness said they saw the man fleeing in a PT Cruiser.
A PT Cruiser was located and stopped in the 100 Block of Santa Ynez Avenue about two blocks away from Dry Creek Apartment Complex, according to police.
Austin Beausoleil, a 24-year-old Paso Robles resident, was driving the vehicle, with Beausoleil’s mother and Ricardo Lopez, a 29-year-old Paso Robles resident, as passengers.
Lopez was detained when officers conducted the traffic stop and found to have a loaded handgun, police said.
Lopez was arrested, but released on a citation for carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, according to the Facebook post.
According to police, Beausoleil refused to get out of his vehicle and continued to inch forward during the traffic stop.
He eventually broke away after another person ran toward the vehicle to interfere but was “kept at bay” by a Paso Robles K-9 unit, and Beausoleil’s mother exited the vehicle, according to the Facebook post.
Officers pursued Beausoleil through the Rosemary neighborhood before blocking his path with two unmarked police vehicles, according to police.
Police said, the unmarked vehicles swerved out of Beausoleil’s path to avoid a collision. Beausoleil then allegedly collided with a detective’s vehicle.
Beausoleil was arrested and booked at San Luis Obispo County Jail around 1 a.m. Thursday on suspicion of evading, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm and vandalism, the post said.
As of Thursday, Beausoleil was not listed in jail custody.
His court date is set for Sept. 28.
Police said they believe Beausoliel smashed the car window because of a fight he was involved in the previous day.
