Parolee eludes capture after rural pursuit

A parolee-at-large wanted on a felony drug warrant escaped from sheriff's deputieson Sunday morning by fleeing through the backyard of a Santa Rosa Rancheria home.

Deputies spotted Levi Gutierrez driving along Saltgrass Road on Sunday just after 9 a.m. Sheriff's Cmdr. Dave Putnam said that when the suspect saw the patrol officer, he increased his speed to more than 80 mph in an attempt to escape.

Gutierrez led members of the Kings County Sheriff's Office on a short chase through the Santa Rosa Rancheria that ended when he pulled into a cul-de-sac and stopped in the backyard of a Sisco Court home. Putnam said the parolee escaped on foot through a hole in a nearby fence, but deputies were able to arrest the passenger riding along with the suspect.

Arrested was Trina Alanis, a 30-year-old Lemoore resident. She was reportedly warned prior to her arrest that any association with Gutierrez would lead to a charge of accessory after the fact.

She was booked into the Kings County Jail on $15,000 bail and was released three hours later.

Photos of Gutierrez, 24, were distributed to all patrol units prior to the incident. He is wanted in Kings County on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, a charge that would carry with it a no-bail parole hold, according to the Hanford Parole Office. Gutierrez is also on probation in Tulare County.

Deputies are still searching for Gutierrez. Any information about his whereabouts should be directed to the Kings County Sheriff's Office at 582-3211, ext. 2790.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(March 17, 2009)