Paso Robles police use pepper balls on stolen car suspects after standoff at Taco Bell
Paso Robles police on Tuesday night used pepper balls to force suspects out of a stolen car after a standoff in a Taco Bell drive-through.
Officers began tracking the car at 9:25 p.m. after the Paso Robles Police Department’s stationary license plate scanner “alerted to a vehicle with a reported stolen license plate,” a news release said.
The plate was attached to a Toyota RAV4 the owner had reported stolen from Paso Robles in September 2020.
Patrol officers located the stolen vehicle in the Taco Bell drive-through in the 190 block of Niblick Road. Officers used their patrol units to box the vehicle in and ordered two suspects out of the car.
The suspects allegedly refused to leave the RAV4 and “started to reach underneath the seats as if they were going to arm themselves,” the news release said.
After a 30-minute standoff, officers decided to use pepper balls to get the suspects out of the car. The officers “(gave) the suspects several warnings” before using a 40mm foam baton round to break the rear passenger window and shooting “several rounds of pepper balls” into the vehicle, the release said.
The suspects then surrendered to officers, who took them into custody. The officers found methamphetamine and drug sales materials in the vehicle, but they didn’t find any weapons.
Police arrested Michael Daniloff, 35, of Paso Robles on suspicion of vehicle theft, possession of narcotics for sale, resisting arrest and unrelated warrants. Officers booked him into the San Luis Obispo County Jail, where he’s being held in lieu of $65,000 bail as of Wednesday afternoon.
Officers arrested the other suspect on suspicion of two misdemeanors: resisting arrest and being under the influence of a controlled substance. Police later released the suspect from jail with a promise to appear in court.
The Tribune typically does not disclose the names of suspects arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor offenses.
