Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Aug. 26, 2022, at about 2:14 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a suspicious vehicle investigation on a vehicle that had parked in the HCSO Eureka Main Station paved lot, blocking a patrol vehicle from exiting.

Deputies contacted the male driver, 55-year-old Mark Steven Franks. During his interactions with deputies, Franks displayed behavior often associated with individuals under a controlled substance or experiencing a behavioral health emergency. Deputies requested the assistance of a traffic officer with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) to conduct an in-field sobriety evaluation. While waiting for officers to arrive, Franks shifted his vehicle into reverse and rapidly accelerated, nearly striking deputies. One deputy sustained minor injuries as a result.

Franks then led deputies and EPD officers on a vehicle pursuit through Eureka. During the pursuit, spike strips were deployed twice. Despite the spike strips successfully deflating the vehicle’s tires, Franks continued to evade law enforcement in the vehicle. In the area of Broadway Street at West Clark Street, Franks’ vehicle collided with three EPD patrol cars and one HCSO patrol car, causing minor collision damage. No peace officers were injured as a result of the collisions.

Following the collisions, Franks’ vehicle came to a stop and after several minutes of negotiation, Franks peacefully surrendered to law enforcement.

Franks was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC 245(a)(1)), evading a peace officer (VC 2800.2) and resisting a peace officer (PC 148(a)(1)).

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.