Police dog finally stops raging man Police dog finally stops raging man (March 05, 2004)

Crash into Starbucks begins wild chase that ends on Moffett

By Dan Stapleton

A persistent man crashed his car into Starbucks on Castro Street early Tuesday morning, and then led police in a chase that only ended after he was slowed by several non-lethal bullets and finally was taken down by a police dog to end the confrontation on Moffett Boulevard.

Police used the non-lethal shotgun rounds and a police canine named Larry to subdue Juan Carlos Perez, 30, of Redwood City, who was taken to the main jail in San Jose. Perez was booked on charges of assault on a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon, evading police, hit-and-run, vandalism and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was also booked on two outstanding misdemeanor warrants totaling $30,000.

According to police reports, officers responding to the incident at 3:22 a.m. on Tuesday learned that before ramming the building Perez had harassed a newspaper delivery person, who had retreated inside Starbucks with the building's janitors.

An officer located the car and Perez in the underground parking lot of the Park Place Apartments around the corner from the scene.

When confronted, Perez shouted at officers to shoot him and then fled. Officers pursued him to the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot, where he attempted to hit a police car.

Perez then continued north on Castro Street until he crashed at Moffett Boulevard and Leong Drive. But the crash only slowed him down, and he continued north along the fence and through a nearby dirt construction area until he finally became stuck on a two-foot-high concrete wall bordering the onramp to southbound Highway 101.

Perez still refused to get out of the car and shouted obscenities at officers trying to talk to him. Officers then fired a non-lethal 12-gauge shotgun round that struck Perez in the upper torso but it didn't stop him. He then got out of the car brandishing a car jack at officers. Police ordered Perez to drop the jack, but he charged them with it raised over his head.

Police then hit Perez with multiple non-lethal shotgun rounds, but he remained undeterred -- Perez threw the jack at the officers, narrowly missing them. He was finally taken down by a police dog Larry.

Perez was taken to Veterans Medical Center and treated for multiple non-lethal projectile impacts and canine bites to the lower extremities. He was then transported to jail.

The Mountain View Police Department is investigating the possibility that this incident was an attempt at "suicide by cop."

E-mail Dan Stapleton at dstapleton@mv-voice.com

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