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Pursuit ends with crash, arrest for Turlock man
pursuit
The stolen vehicle allegedly driven by Julio Paniagua of Turlock crashed into a dirt berm during a pursuit in Los Banos.

A Turlock man was arrested Monday in Los Banos after leading officers on a pursuit that ended with a crash and the suspect trying to swim away.

The incident began shortly before 2:30 a.m. Monday in the area of McKinley and Pioneer roads in Los Banos when a police officer ran a check on a vehicle and discovered it had been stolen out of San Jose.

Additional officers responded to the area and an attempt was made to pull the vehicle over, but the driver, later identified as Julio Paniagua, 25, of Turlock, failed to stop.

The high speed pursuit lasted a short time and came to an end when Paniagua left the roadway and drove into a dirt field, where the vehicle became disabled after colliding with a dirt berm.

Paniagua ran from the vehicle, leaving behind Julian Rodriguez, 23, of Santa Nella. Rodriguez was promptly taken into custody.

Paniagua attempted to make his escape by jumping into a nearby body of water, but within a few minutes he was exhausted and swam back to the officers and was taken into custody.

Paniagua was charged with fleeing a peace officer, possession of stolen property, and vehicle theft. Rodriguez was charged with possession of stolen property. Both men were booked into the county jail.