Behind the Badge
A wild chase Wednesday, involving Anaheim and Tustin police in pursuit of a man and a woman suspected of a felony assault, resulted in multiple collisions before ending with a crash on a deadend street in Tustin.
Taken into custody following the Dec. 14 pursuit were Crystal Rincon, 21, of Santa Ana, and her boyfriend, Juan Monzon, 24, of Anaheim, who were wanted in connection to a suspected gang-related assault that occurred Nov. 28 in Anaheim.
After the pursuit, two 4-year old girls were discovered in the back seat of the suspects’ vehicle. Both were unharmed and believed to be children of a relative of Rincon. They were released to their mother.
In the Nov. 28 case, Anaheim police were responding to a call of an assault with a deadly weapon near Rose and Sycamore streets, where witnesses reported a male beating another male on the head with a rifle.
As the unidentified victim ran away, the suspect, later identified as Monzon, got in a vehicle believed to be driven by Rincon.
Monzon is suspected of firing several rounds from a hand gun into a crowd of witnesses as Rincon drove away.
On Wednesday, Dec. 14, investigators with the APD Gang Detail and Crime task force were conducting surveillance at Rincon’s residence in the 1200 block of South Standard Avenue in Santa Ana.
Rincon arrived in a vehicle but immediately drove off, with Monzon in the right front passenger seat.
Investigators began following the vehicle and requested assistance from marked police units in the area.
Rincon tried to evade the undercover officers but got stuck in traffic while going north on Red Hill Avenue in Tustin.
Monzon then moved to the driver’s seat and sped away, going northbound in southbound lanes on Red Hill Avenue.
A marked Tustin PD patrol car tried to block the vehicle from the front, with APD undercover units blocking it from behind.
Monzon began ramming the police vehicles, ultimately making room to escape.
As Monzon collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Red Hill and El Camino Real, causing his vehicle to roll, his vehicle came to rest on its wheels and Monzon drove off again, with marked Tustin PD units in pursuit.
During the pursuit, Monzon threw a loaded handgun from the vehicle that later was recovered.
The pursuit finally ended when Monzon turned down a deadend street in Tustin and was blocked in by police units.
He tried again to ram one marked Tustin unit before being completely blocked in and surrendering.
Monzon and Rincon were arrested and transported to OC Global in Santa Ana for medical clearance and then transported to the APD detention facility where they were booked on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, child endangerment, felony evading, firearms charges, and gang enhancements.
“The statutory bail is $500,000. However, based on the totality of the circumstances, detectives will be requesting a bail enhancement,” APD Sgt. Daron Wyatt said. “Significant restraint was used by all officers involved from the Anaheim Police Department and Tustin Police Department in taking these violent suspects into custody without the use of force.”
One Anaheim Police investigator suffered minor injuries stemming from his vehicle being rammed, Wyatt said.
