Parolee Pleads Not Guilty to Backing Car into La Mesa Police Cruiser

A  49-year-old Lakeside man accused of backing a stolen car into a police cruiser in La Mesa, triggering a pursuit, pleaded not guilty Friday to assault on a peace officer and other charges.
  
Henry Zimmeth,  a parolee, was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
  
The charges against Zimmeth include an allegation that he was out on bail awaiting trial on a burglary/auto theft case at the time, Deputy District Attorney Cherie Somerville said in El Cajon Superior Court.
  
Zimmeth also is charged in a third case with corporal injury to a spouse and reckless evading, the prosecutor said.
  
The defendant—who has a 2003 conviction for evading police—faces 30 years in prison if convicted, Somerville said. Judge John Thompson set a readiness conference for Oct. 21 and a preliminary hearing for Oct. 27.
  
In addition to assault with a deadly weapon, Zimmeth is charged with resisting an executive officer, evading with reckless driving and auto theft.

A police officer tried to pull Zimmeth over on Lake Murray Boulevard around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, but before the officer could get out of his car, the suspect backed into the black-and-white, then sped away, said La Mesa police Lt. Matt Nicholass.
  
The ensuing chase ended at a dead end in the 9400 block of Lake Murray Boulevard, according to Nicholass.
 
Investigators learned Zimmeth was a “parolee-at-large'” and driving a vehicle from El Cajon that had yet to be reported stolen.
  
The officer’s cruiser sustained moderate front-end damage, but no one was hurt, Nicholass said.