Chase at 90 mph leads to investigation into burglary of two
rental agencies
Gilroy – An alleged car thief is being held in Amador County Jail as police investigate whether he is connected to a Gilroy car rental’s burglary and arson.
Joseph Jacob Uvalles, 21, driving a stolen truck, took law enforcement on a high-speed, early-morning chase spanning two counties Wednesday morning before being caught and arrested for auto theft, possession of stolen property, evading a peace officer and being an unlicensed driver. Gilroy police are also searching the vehicle to see if the San Jose resident is connected to a Tuesday fire and burglary at Budget Rent A Car, near the intersection of 10th Street and U.S. 101, according to an Amador County Sheriff’s Office press release.
About 4:30am, Uvalles, in a silver Ford F150 pickup truck, and a driver in a sedan were both parked at the Amador Ridge Shopping Center in Martell – about 40 miles northeast of Stockton. When a sheriff’s deputy approached in a car, they sped away.
The deputy pursued, ran the license plate of the pickup and found it reported stolen from Budget Rent A Car. As the two vehicles split apart, the deputy followed the truck, which reached speeds of 90 mph as it headed west on Highway 88 out of Amador County. After more than 30 miles with three cars on his tail, Uvalles lost control of the truck and it careened off the road, rolled twice and ended up sideways in an open field east of the town of Wallace – about 25 miles northeast of Stockton.
Officers arrested Uvalles, who was uninjured, and searched the vehicle. They found burglary tools and stolen property associated with a burglary at a Martell Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Gilroy’s Budget agency was broken into the morning before and a television, PlayStation 2 and four computers appeared to be missing, the agency owner and police said. The burglary was discovered when firefighters responded to what appeared to be a deliberate fire, police said.
Gilroy police were unavailable for comment Friday.
