Driver in stolen vehicle pursued, caught in Visalia

VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A pursuit of a stolen vehicle through several cities ended with an arrest thanks to the assistance of multiple agencies, Visalia police said.

Officers attempted a traffic stop on what they believed to be a stolen vehicle near Caldwell Avenue and Lover’s Lane around 8:45 p.m. Friday.

They said the vehicle’s driver, 47-year-old Dennis Teal, refused to stop, which started the pursuit.

The driver led officers to the area of Road 156 and Noble Avenue where the decision was made to stop pursuing Teal on the ground due to public safety concerns.

At that point, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office’s AIR 2 arrived and continued to monitor Teal via air and relayed updates to the Tulare County’s Sheriff’s Office.

Despite the pursuit being called off, law enforcement said Teal drove recklessly through multiple city and county areas, which created a public safety threat.

Other law enforcement agencies got involved and coordinated efforts to deploy spike strips to try to stop the vehicle.

TCSO deputies said that despite experiencing a traffic collision in Tulare, Teal continued to drive toward Exeter.

At one point, they said he drove over a spike strip and a front tire was disabled. However, that didn’t stop him from driving on the rim as he returned to Visalia.

When he reached a dead end in Patterson Tract, Visalia Police and the Tulare County Regional Auto Theft Task Force (TRATT) were able to catch him after he tried to flee on foot.

Teal was booked into the Tulare County Pre-Trial Adult Detention Facility on suspicion of felony evading and possession of a stolen vehicle.