Santa Cruz man sentenced to prison for allegedly fleeing from police in stolen patrol car

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) A Santa Cruz resident was sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly stealing a police patrol vehicle during his arrest and using it to lead officers on a chase, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.

Corey Duncan, 33, was sentenced for evading an officer, resisting arrest, unlawfully taking a vehicle and escaping from arrest charges.

The incident happened on May 11, 2021, when a Monterey officer reportedly saw Duncan rummaging in the trunk of a white BMW in the parking lot of the Quality Inn on N. Fremont Street. The DA's Office said the clerk walked outside and told the officer that Duncan and the woman with him, identified as Rebecca Bush, were not staying at the motel and that the BMW was not registered to anyone at the motel.

Monterey police arrest woman who allegedly led officers on chase, used stolen license plate

After that, Duncan reportedly walked away from the BMW and into the motel property while Bush got into the driver's seat and parked the vehicle along the curb. During a check, the officer learned that the rear license plate of the vehicle belonged to a 2007 Nissan.

Other officers arrived and approached the vehicle, but they said Bush refused to follow orders and drove away, leading officers on a pursuit. It was canceled when officers said she drove erratically and posed a risk to the public.

Officers found Duncan and told him to stop, but when an officer got out of his patrol vehicle, they said he ran away and continued even after officers told him to stop multiple times.

Eventually, officers caught Duncan and told him to lie on the ground. That is when police said he stopped, squatted down and started to cry, saying he was scared.

The DA's Office said that when an officer was taking Duncan to the Monterey City Jail, he was able to get out of the back seat of the vehicle and get away. He reportedly got into the driver's seat of a police vehicle and started to drive away with emergency lights and sirens on.

Police said he ran multiple stop signs and red lights and drove at around 60 miles per hour through residential and business areas.

Duncan got out and ran away again, according to the DA's Office. They said he was seen jumping off the roof of a home onto a fence and over a fence, but he was caught in the backyard of a home. He was arrested and booked into the Monterey City Jail.

The DA's Office said an officer was injured while trying to catch Duncan.