Suspected reckless driver arrested near Hopland after two-county pursuit

A San Diego man whose, erratic and reckless driving behavior led law enforcement to pursue him in two counties, was arrested Thursday morning by CHP after officers spiked his tires and forced his car to stop, the CHP said.

Officers suspect Kacy Perry, 42, was under the influence of drugs when they took him into custody east of Hopland about 9:42 a.m., more than an hour and a half after he was first pursued by officers in Lakeport.

The first incident began about 8:02 a.m. when Lakeport Police officers started chasing a silver Ford Fusion that was driving erratically. CHP assumed the pursuit 10 minutes later at Highway 29 and Cole Creek Road, but officers called off the chase about 8:24 a.m, according to a CHP statement.

Then, about 8:31 a.m., citizens called the CHP’s Ukiah Communications Center to report a silver Ford Fusion recklessly driving northbound on Highway 29 near Soda Bay Road, running a red light and passing other cars despite double yellow lines and blind curves in the road, the CHP said.

Lakeport Police found the Ford Fusion at 9:09 a.m. as the car traveled southbound on Highway 29 and Lakeport Boulevard. The Fusion backed into a Lakeport police car and fled southbound, prompting a second pursuit from Lakeport Police, according to CHP.

Because the car’s “continued threat to public safety,” CHP assumed the pursuit at 9:14 a.m,, chasing the Ford Fusion westbound onto Highway 175 from Highway 29, into Mendocino County, the statement said.

A CHP sergeant successfully spiked the Fusion’s tires at 9:37 a.m., but the car kept driving westbound at 30 to 40 mph. CHP stopped the car about five minutes later and took the driver, Perry, into custody. ?Perry was booked into Lake County Jail on suspicion of felony evading, driving under the influence of drugs, being under the influence of a controlled substance and resisting or delaying a peace officer, according to the CHP.

You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @thejdmorris.