Walnuts, grapes and corn were all victims in a local high-speed pursuit on Tuesday evening when a parolee at large busted in the apartment door of a Hanford resident, assaulted her, then led police officers on a wild chase through county farmlands.

"He just turned his car right off of Fargo Avenue into some grape vineyards," said Sgt. George Hernandez with the Hanford Police Department. "We didn't want to chase him through there, so we paralleled him along some dirt roads, and he just kept going right through walnut orchards, grape vineyards and corn crops."

Police were called to an apartment complex in the 600 block of West Fargo Avenue just after 6:30 p.m. when it was reported that a large, Indian male had busted down the door of a resident and began beating her up, according to police officials.

"When we arrived on the scene, we contacted the victim who told us the man fled south through the complex," Hernandez said. "I was actually pulled over by the south gate at the time and reported that he hadn't come out, when we were told he was heading for the gate in a green Chevy Impala."

The vehicle apparently flew out of the gate directly toward Hernandez's car, turning only at the last second to avoid hitting the patrol vehicle.

"He deliberately hit a car pulled over to the curb to avoid me," Hernandez said. "She wasn't injured, but he just plowed right into her silver compact car and just kept going."

The suspect then reportedly raced away eastbound on Fargo Avenue in excess of 80 mph. Units kept close behind him before he veered off the road into farmland, where officers eventually lost sight of him.

"He was somewhere west of 7 1/2 Avenue when we last saw him, near a canal," Hernandez said. "We searched out there for an hour, clearing the area, but we couldn't find him."

The story did not end there, however.

The next morning, people spotted the same man walking down Fargo between Seventh and Eighth avenues and immediately contacted police officials.

"Apparently, he ran out of gas somewhere out there and hid his vehicle, staying the night in hiding," Hernandez said. "He must've hid well, because we couldn't find him when we were searching."

The man was later identified as Arthur Dean Ignacio, 24, a homeless parolee who has been on the run for some time.

The victim in the initial assault refused to press charges against the suspect, as she had no visible injuries or suffered any visible trauma following the reported assault.

He was booked into Kings County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, evading peace officers, reckless driving, vandalism and a parole hold, which prevents him from posting bail.

"Well, we have him in custody, the car was recovered and nobody got hurt," Hernandez said. "So, all is well then."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(June 26, 2008)