June 18, 2024 – Fresno County Sheriff's Office officials report that Deputies arrested 20-year-old Oscar Duarte of Fresno after he spent nearly 15 minutes, speeding up to 120 mph, trying to avoid capture. He was booked into the Fresno County Jail on charges of evading police and reckless driving. He has since been released from custody and has been issued a future court date.
Around 8:30 P.M. on June 8th, a deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on a red Mercedes Benz traveling at a high rate of speed. This occurred at Highway 41 and Jensen Ave. in Fresno. The driver, later identified as Oscar Duarte, refused to pull over and sped away, making several unsafe lane changes. After approximately two minutes, the deputy cancelled his pursuit and the California Highway Patrol’s airplane, AIR 43, took over by following the suspect. The air crew continuously relayed the vehicle’s movements and locations to ground patrols.
Duarte would drive through red lights, pass vehicles on the shoulder and in the median as he tried to avoid being captured. He took several different routes, driving consistently between 90 – 100 mph, before finally exiting Belmont Ave. from Highway 99 at around 8:45 P.M. There, CHP units and deputies surrounded the Mercedes and ordered the driver out of the vehicle. Duarte complied with law enforcement’s commands and was taken into custody. Duarte later told officers he did not stop because he has watched other drivers behave the same way in videos posted on the internet and he thought it would be fun to do the same. Fortunately, he did not strike any other vehicles on the roadways.
Anyone with additional information about this case is asked to please contact the Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867, www.valleycrimestoppers.org. You will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Reference case # 24-6592.
View video here.
Source: Fresno County Sheriff's Office
