Authorities are looking for Berret Brown, who fled the scene of a crash on Sunday, July 19, 2009. Photo courtesy of the California Highway Patrol.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – Law enforcement officials are looking for an armed man who fled a crash scene on Sunday.
California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Tanguay said 24-year-old Berret J. Brown and a second unnamed subject ran from officers on Sunday morning.
Brown, who goes by the nickname “Bear,” is an active parolee at large who should be considered armed and dangerous, said Tanguay.
Brown was driving a 1995 Mazda MX6 northbound on Highway 53 approaching the stop sign at Highway 20 at approximately 10:30 a.m. Sunday when he struck the back end of a 2000 Mercedes driven by a 41-year-old Elk Grove woman who was sitting at the stop sign ahead of him, Tanguay said.
Tanguay said that, after the collision, Brown and an unknown male passenger got out of the Mazda and pushed it out of the roadway before fleeing the scene on foot.
CHP and the Lake County Sheriff's Office conducted a search for the men.
Reports from the scene indicated that one of the men was running north through nearby vineyards, and CHP had Verizon “ping” his phone to find him. One of the men – believed to be Brown – motioned in a manner that led officers to believe he was armed by no weapon was seen.
Tanguay said CHP asks anyone who has information about Brown's whereabouts to call the Clear Lake CHP office, 707-279-0103, or the Lake County Sheriff's Office, 707-262-4200.
