Very early Wednesday morning, February 8th, an investigation regarding an occupied vehicle parked in a no parking zone was conducted by Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the Trinidad area just before 12:30am.
According to a Wednesday press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, upon deputy contact, the driver, reversed his vehicle colliding with the patrol car, then fled at a high rate of speed. Deputies pursued the vehicle through Trinidad, onto Highway 101 and onto Highway 299, and the California Highway Patrol was requested to assist.
The subject, identified as 48 year old Tsewenaldin Allen Vanpelt, led authorities on a pursuit lasting approximately 85 minutes, with Vanpelt’s vehicle reaching speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. During the pursuit, Vanpelt brandished a firearm from the vehicle multiple times.
Vanpelt eventually yielded the vehicle to law enforcement at a California Highway Patrol road block where he was taken into custody and was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility by the California Highway Patrol on charges of evading a peace officer, exhibiting a firearm in the presence of law enforcement, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, driving under the influence of alcohol, and resisting a peace officer.
