October 3, 2019 – On the evening of October 2nd, 2019 the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office received a call of suspicious activity in the 15000 block of Lake Vera – Purdon Road in Nevada City. A newer, red, Chevy Camaro was spotted parked near a residence and two male subjects were associated with the vehicle. The reporting party was concerned about possible theft.
A short time later a detective with the Sheriff’s Office, who was driving an unmarked emergency vehicle, located the Camaro on State Highway 49 near North Bloomfield Road. The detective was attempting to the follow the vehicle until a marked patrol car could conduct an investigative stop. While following the vehicle, the driver realized he was being followed and attempted to evade the detective. The detective attempted to stop the vehicle and a short vehicle pursuit began. The pursuit ended with the Camaro crashing into the front yard of a residence in the 10000 block of Pittsburg Road. Two male occupants fled the collision on foot and were later located and detained by surrounding deputies and officers from the Grass Valley and Nevada City Police Departments.
Deputies identified the two men as Joel Davis (29 years old) and Austin Johnson (27 years old). Due to injuries sustained during the collision, both subjects were transported to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital for treatment. Officers from the California Highway Patrol were investigating the collision for hit and run and driving a vehicle under the influence of narcotics.
At this time, detectives from the sheriff’s office are still investigating whether the men who fled the vehicle collision are associated with any recent thefts or attempted thefts in the Lake Vera – Purdon Road area. We encourage anyone with information they believe to be relevant to this case to contact the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (530)265-1263.