Crime & Safety

No-Contest Plea for Driver Whose High-Speed Chase Cruised Through East Palo Alto

San Francisco man forced to leap from vehicle when a tire blew out during chase last July.

A San Francisco man who led California Highway Patrol officers on a dangerous chase through East Palo Alto this summer pleaded no contest Tuesday to the charges against him in San Mateo County Superior Court.

James Esco Jackson, 42, refused to pull over when a CHP officer spotted his vehicle traveling at a high speed on U.S. Highway 101 on July 6, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Jackson, who was later found to be driving on a suspended license, left the highway at University Avenue and ran numerous red lights and stop signs in an attempt to escape the CHP, prosecutors said.

He was forced to abandon his car when a tire blew out, and escaped
by running into the surrounding neighborhood.

About 40 minutes later, a woman called police to report a suspicious man near her home, and responding officers found Jackson hiding under a car.

In exchange for pleading no contest to one felony count of evading an officer, the district attorney's office agreed to drop one of Jackson's two prior strike convictions.

Jackson is expected to be sentenced to six years in prison on Nov. 4.

Bay City News Service

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