Anderson man chased by deputies gets 6 years with plea bargain

An Anderson man who eluded sheriff's deputies during a pursuit last month only to be found four days later near Shasta Dam faces six years in prison as part of a plea bargain.

On the eve of his Thursday preliminary hearing, Chris John Rapozo, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday to flight from officers and admitted to having three prior convictions.

A series of other charges, including forgery, two counts of second-degree commercial burglary and attempted grand theft, were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea and admissions.

Rapozo, whose 37th birthday is the day before his scheduled April 30 sentencing date, led Shasta County sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol on a 20-mile chase on March 26 after deputies tried to stop him near Churn Creek and Knighton roads.

He eventually eluded them by driving through an open security gate near Shasta Dam. He sped along a dirt road that wound up the slope of 4,217-foot Mammoth Butte until his pickup became disabled and he fled into the brush, officers reported.

Deputies later called off the hunt for him, but Rapozo was arrested on March 30 after members of his family found him lying half-conscious, dehydrated and bruised beside a dirt road in the rugged area west of the dam.

After his arrest, prosecutors charged him, among other things, with a series of charges accusing him of stealing a check and forging it, making it out for $425.

Police said he tried to pass the check at two Redding banks on March 26 - the same day he led officers and deputies on the chase.

A Redding police investigative report alleged that Rapozo broke into a business owned by Richard Holly, a man who told deputies that he had dated Rapozo's mother in the past. The check was stolen during that burglary, the report said.

After forging Holly's name on the check, Rapozo unsuccessfully tried to cash it at Premier West Bank branches on Bechelli Lane and on Cypress Avenue in Redding.