PREVIOUSLY: Suspected Car Thief Picked Up Wandering Henderson Center at 4 a.m.

(Note: This is the resolution to the case in our widely circulated Facebook post yesterday.)

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From the Eureka Police Department:

On 8-8-2013, at about 0547 hours, a citizen reported that his 1994 Ford F250 work truck was stolen from the 3300 block of H Street in Eureka. A short time after Sergeant Reyna-Sanchez finished approving the stolen auto report, at about 1047 hours, he saw the stolen pick up being driven by 29 year old Paul Bareilles at Glatt and W Street.

Upon making eye contact with Sgt Reyna-Sanchez, Bareilles accelerated west/bound on Glatt Street at a high rate of speed. Sgt Reyna-Sanchez lost sight of the stolen truck as it turned onto the Sequoia Park Duck Pond Road. This roadway is a winding single lane, one way roadway that is the exit point for duck pond users. Bareilles drove the Ford F250 the wrong way, down to the duck pond. At the bottom of the hill, Bareilles turned onto a pedestrian pathway, crashing through the vehicle barrier gate. Bareilles drove on the path until he crashed into a redwood tree, causing major damage to the truck. Although his speeds were not witnessed, the destroyed gate and truck speak to speeds that were too dangerous for the conditions. EPD patrol officers set up a perimeter and conducted a search to no avail. The Eureka Police Department is working with the DA’s office to expedite an arrest warrant for Bareilles.

Paul Bareilles has a long history with auto theft and has convictions for auto theft and the possession of stolen vehicles. He was currently out on bail for another auto theft charge that is pending. Bareilles has either been arrested or named as a suspect in about 10 separate investigations since 2005 with the Eureka Police Department. In lieu of an arrest warrant, the Eureka Police Department has issued a Penal Code 836 arrest authorization. PC 836 allows state law enforcement officers to make an arrest for a felony offense based on probable cause.

Anyone with information of his whereabouts should counsel Bareilles to turn himself in or advise law enforcement of his location. Anyone with information can call EPD dispatch at 441-4044.