Chase ends after deputy rams van

CAUGHT:
Robbery suspect Patrick Nathaniel Smith is deposited into a county squad car following a high speed chase.

Photo by Michael Woodward

ALSO CAUGHT: Another suspect is secured by law enforcement officers in the Shasta Outlets parking lot.

Photo by Michael Woodward

COLLISION: The suspects' green minivan spun over the curb after a deputy's vehicle colllided with it. The minivan drove over a spike strip during a high speed pursuit.

Photo by Michael Woodward

K9 ASSISTANCE: A suspect's injuries following K9 apprehension are inspected by a paramedic.

The Shasta County Sheriff's Department was led on a high-speed chase of two suspected bank robbers stemming from a reported bank robbery at Tri-Counties Bank in Palo Cedro on Thursday, Feb. 5, at about 10 a.m.

According to Detective Wes Collette of the Shasta County Sheriff's Department, an individual wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses demanded money from a bank teller. The teller complied, and the suspect fled.

Officers pursued the suspects in a green minivan along Deschutes Road to Interstate 5, then to Cottonwood and back to the Shasta Outlets parking lot where Lieutenant Jeff Foster and Deputy Tom Moon, among other officers, cornered the suspects. Chase speeds reached 100 mph at one point.

Deputy Tom Moon finally collided with the rear corner of the suspects' green minivan, forcing it against a curb near an automated teller machine in the Shasta Outlets parking lot.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said that terminating the pursuit was important so that suspects would not feel threatened and possibly cause damage or loss of life.

"We're very fortunate there was not a loss of life during the pursuit," Bosenko said.

Bosenko remarked that the chase lasted only about 15 minutes before his deputies were able to halt the suspects' progress.

One suspect, Patrick Nathaniel Smith, 32, fled the vehicle and received a dog bite and scratches from the county K9 when he tried to flee across the mall parking lot, Sgt. Beupre said. The driver of the vehicle, Charles Albert Kesselring, 42, was bruised from the traffic collision. Both were booked into Shasta County Jail the same day.

Two officers received minor injuries in the pursuit. No weapons were seen or recovered from the suspects according to Beaupre.

Sheriff Bosenko said that any other details of the robbery were not immediately available.