Salinas man found guilty of assault, dissuading a witness and evading police

A Salinas man was found guilty of assault, theft, dissuading a witness and evading police among other charges.

This happened February 3, 2018. Three people were sitting in a car after shopping at a Safeway when a truck pulled up next to them. The person who reported the incident said two women got out of the truck and attacked his friend in the back seat of the car.

Then 25-year-old Carlos Ibarra got out of the driver’s seat of the truck and approched the man who reported it. Ibarra told him not to call police and grabbed his cell phone out of a shirt pocket. Ibarra assaulted the victim when he tried to get the phone back before leaving with the women.

The three flagged down a Salinas police officer, and they were able to find Ibarra’s truck. Police tried to pull him over, and he stopped at first, but took off when officers got out to approach his truck.

Ibarra sped through residential areas and ran seven stop signs before giving up the chase and stopping.

In the truck was a pouch containing 9 mm bullets and the victim’s cell phone. Officers also noticed the front passenger window was rolled down when it had not been earlier. They retraced the route of the chase and found a bag on the road that had gun and ammunition of the same caliber in it. Ibarra is a convicted felon, so it was illegal for him to have a gun and ammunition.

He will be sentenced on May 8 and is facing up to 10 years in prison.