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San Ramon police arrested a San Jose woman on an assortment of charges early Sunday morning after she allegedly led officers on a chase along city streets before ultimately crashing her stolen vehicle into a patrol car in Danville, sending herself and a police officer to the hospital, authorities said.
The incident began just before 3 a.m. when a San Ramon police officer ran a license plate check on a Honda Civic parked at the Shell gas station at Crow Canyon Road and Crow Canyon Place, according to a San Ramon police statement. The officer learned the car was reported stolen out of Sunnyvale on Thursday.
A woman was standing alone next to the Civic, and the officer tried to detain her at gunpoint, according to police.
Authorities allege that the woman — later identified as 32-year-old Stephanie Joaquim Almeida — ignored the officer’s command, jumped into the Civic and fled from the gas station.
The officer pursued the fleeing car and was later joined by other San Ramon police officers on the chase, which covered several northern San Ramon streets and extended into southern Danville near Ridgeland Drive, police said.
Authorities allege Almeida drove on the wrong side of the road several times, and at one point, nearly clipped a pursuing officer after making a U-turn on a dead-end street.
Police said the San Jose woman eventually drove onto Danville’s North Forest Hill Place — a long cul-de-sac.
After reaching that dead end, Almeida turned around and started driving out of the cul-de-sac as San Ramon police officers were driving in, according to police.
The Civic reportedly crashed head-on into a patrol car, causing severe damage to both vehicles.
Officers proceeded to take Almeida into custody without further incident, according to police. She was treated at San Ramon Regional Medical Center for undisclosed injuries and released to authorities who booked her into the county jail.
A male police officer, whose name was not revealed, was also taken to San Ramon Regional following the crash, according to police. He was reportedly treated for undisclosed injuries and released.
Inside the Civic, investigators allegedly found methamphetamine, syringes and suspected stolen property.
Almeida was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, felony evasion of a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of stolen property and having an outstanding warrant for probation violation, according to police.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, authorities said.
All because she was high on methanphetamine. Thank God it happened at 3 am or more could have gotten hurt.
Good job to police for chasing down the meth head.
While law abiding people are sleeping so they can go to work next day, idiots who are on the wrong side of the law, who are getting subsidized by the welfare system, are exploiting the 50% that pay taxes, are driving around trying to find people to steal from. This person was bold enough to give chase to police in a stolen vehicle and then crash it. The drugs are a side story. She had to have money to buy the drugs. Where did she get it? Maybe she sold her food stamps? Now we pay for her hospitalization (I’m sure she is uninsured). Lawlessness is on the rise due to lax laws in the state and the country. Thankyou San Ramon police department for your good job though. (Though I’m sure there are those out there who would say they racially profiled too!)
That accounts for the sirens that woke me up! @Louise, where does it say this woman was on general assistance (aka “welfare”) and receiving food stamps?
Wow! Think a minute of how much this event will cost the taxpayers before she gets out of prison, hopefully, some years from now.
OldHenry
@Louise, are you familiar with the expression, ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and ME? How do you know this person or how she lives her life?
Blame it on income inequality!
In answer to the queries about whether woman perp was working or receiving any subsidies. She would not have stolen a car if she had her own car. I guess she is a working individual who just likes to go on joy rides with stolen vehicles while she is smoking her meth pipe. But go ahead to those who questioned my comments and continue to be utopian idealists. I prefer reality and whether it is an assumption or not, there is a high probability this person is getting some kind of handout from the taxpayers. (Well, she certainly is now that she is in jail!)
There is no better way to hide behind your misperceptions than the ol’ two-two whiff of saying: “isn’t it obvious?”, followed by a sneering “you’re just a utopian idealist.”
Why wait for the evidence — let’s form a lynch mob!
I am really surprised at some of your judgemental attitudes. Addicts are not all being funded by the government. Addicts do not need to be in jail, they need facilities that will help them with their disease of addiction so that the bad behavior will not happen again. It is the drugs not the person. These people need our help and not hurtful or kudgemental behavior. I csn tell you that behind every door in my uoscale San Ramon neighborhood there is a story of someone with addiction issues or some form of misbehavior. So don’t glorify yourself, be real.
Yes, by all means Debora, let’s put her in a “facility” where she might yet again have access to (or steal) another car. Why, what’s the worst that could happen with a speeding drugged out lunatic going the wrong way on city streets? Maybe a few children run over, a family or two maimed for life. What’s the big deal – slap her on the wrist, right? For god’s sake let’s not judge! Or kudge….
You want to talk about how corrupt the U.S. prison system is? Sure, I’m up for that, but it’s not the subject here.
Methhead Stephanie Almeida passed the point of easy treatment a while ago. I have a close friend who had to deal with long-term meth addiction with his kid. Two stints in court-mandated rehab and two more short (one about a week; one about 25 days) jail terms accomplished nothing. What finally put an end to this kid’s meth use? 6-1/2 uninterrupted months in jail. Yes, I know you can get drugs there, but it’s not as simple as tv makes it seem. You need some sort of payment or trade, and my friend’s kid did not have that. And he was housed with neighboring inmates who had a sincere desire to get out of jail and stay out. That doesn’t always happen, but this time it did.
The kid in question has been clean for a full year now. Jail is often a disaster for drug addicts, but sometimes “facilities” are useless too. There is no generalizing, every case is different.
To paraphrase what I have said to frequent poster Peter Klugett/Huh?/whatever his name is, I guarantee you would have posted an altogether different message than the one above if Ms. Joaquim-Almeida had smashed into one of your family members. You can deny it, but you won’t be telling the truth if you do. It doesn’t matter if you think that David Lynchian secrets hide behind every other door.