June 19, 2024 - Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced on Tuesday that on June 13, 2024, 48-year-old Sonora resident Joshua Gagen was sentenced to the maximum possible sentence of 6 years 4 months in State Prison.

The sentence comes after Mr. Gagen pled guilty as charged late in the afternoon on the court day before his jury trial was set to begin to felony charges of assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, threatening a public officer, fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving against traffic, as well as misdemeanor charges of resisting, obstructing, or delaying a peace officer, and driving when privilege to drive was suspended for a prior DUI conviction.  

These charges stem from an incident that occurred on February 24, 2024, where a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop for several traffic violations in Columbia State Historic Park at nearly 11 pm.   Instead of stopping, Mr. Gagen led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit during which he failed to stop at posted signs while speeding, passed vehicles on the wrong side of the road, and repeatedly drove on the wrong side of the road despite opposing traffic being present.  Mr. Gagen threw a large heavy car jack out the driver side window at the initial deputy while Mr. Gagen sped and drove in an unsafe manner on a narrow stretch of Big Hill Road.  The deputy had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by the car jack while also staying on the road.

Multiple deputies joined the pursuit which continued on 108 past Twain Harte Drive where California Highway Patrol officers also joined and Mr. Gagen drove at 100 mph on the wrong side of the highway. The pursuit then came back down through downtown Sonora and back to Columbia and Big Hill Road. Ultimately, law enforcement was able to conduct a successful PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) to force Mr. Gagen to stop. The overall pursuit was approximately 38 miles long and lasted about 44 minutes.

After the vehicle was stopped, Mr. Gagen jumped out the driver’s side window and ran.  When law enforcement caught him, Mr. Gagen said threatened officers by yelling, “I got a gun. I’m gonna kill you.  Right here.” It took five law enforcement officers working together to take Mr. Gagen in to custody and escort him safely to the county jail. Mr. Gagen has a lengthy criminal history spanning over 20 years including two separate felony evasion cases.

This case was investigated by the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Samantha Arnerich.
Source: Tuolumne County District Attorney