On Thursday, August 4th, 2022, at 9:33 pm, a Turlock Police officer near the intersection of Fulkerth Rd and N Soderquist Rd, Turlock, observed a vehicle violate the California Vehicle Code, so he attempted to make a traffic stop on it.
The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Matiullah Amani, 23, of Turlock, began to accelerate and a pursuit ensued.
The pursuit went southbound on N Soderquist Rd, eastbound on W Canal Dr, and then southbound on N First St where it was terminated by a sergeant as speeds reached 85 miles per hour and several stop signs were run.
Officers continued to trail Amani while not in pursuit, however, stopped doing so in the Spruce St area.
At 11:46 pm, a different officer near the intersection of N Broadway and W Main St spotted a vehicle which matched the description of the one involved in the pursuit. He followed it to the intersection of N Golden State Blvd and Geer Rd where he attempted to stop it with the assistance of another officer, however, Amani accelerated again and a second pursuit ensued.
The pursuit went northbound on N Golden State Blvd, northbound on Dels Ln, and then eastbound on W Hawkeye Ave where Amani made a U-turn at Geer Rd and went westbound on W Hawkeye Ave. The pursuit then continued westbound onto Fulkerth Rd and northbound on State Route 99.
The pursuit continued up the freeway until Hatch Rd, Ceres, where it was terminated again by a sergeant as speeds reached an excess of 120 miles per hour. During this pursuit, several stop signs and red lights were run, including a red light at speeds of seventy miles per hour.
Very shortly after the pursuit was terminated, at about 12:12 am, Amani was back in town doing burnouts in the parking lot of Walgreens, 1591 Geer Rd. He was spotted by officers who attempted to stop him a third time and were successful this time due to traffic in the area preventing him from fleeing.
A high risk stop was conducted and Amani was removed from his vehicle and detained at gunpoint.
Amani was questioned and admitted to officers that he was the one driving the vehicle during the two pursuits.
Amani was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of flight from a peace officer with disregard to public safety and reckless driving. Additionally, his vehicle was impounded.
