A Morro Bay man was arrested at a home in San Luis Obispo after leading police on two high-speed chases, escaping both times after police called off the pursuit due to safety concerns.
In a Sept. 3 news release, Sgt. Gene Stuart, said at 4:29 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, dispatch notified MBPD officers of a suspicious subject at a North Morro Bay fast food restaurant.
Sgt. Stuart explained, “Dispatch advised the Morro Bay Police Department of a male subject punching the window of a vehicle in the Taco Bell parking lot.”
The apparently angry man left the scene before officers arrived. An officer quickly found the car on Quintana Road using a description provided by a witness.
“At approximately 4:33 p.m.,” Sgt. Stuart said, “a Morro Bay PD officer located a vehicle matching the description and attempted a traffic enforcement stop in the 1100 block of Kennedy Way,” near the Community Center.
The officer hit the lights and siren, but the driver hit the gas and fled.
The driver “failed to yield to officer’s lights and sirens and began traveling at a high rate of speed in the area of Harbor Street and Morro Bay Boulevard,” Sgt. Stuart said, “before heading south on Highway 1, where he stopped briefly.”
The driver, later identified as Gil Sung Kim, 43 of Morro Bay, refused to shut the car off nor exit his vehicle while stopped on the highway. Instead, he took off again, heading south on the highway and reaching speeds of 115 mph, according to Sgt. Stuart. Police let him go at that point.
“Officers terminated the pursuit,” Sgt. Stuart said, “due to safety concerns for the public. Moments later, Kim redirected and began heading north on Hwy 1 back towards Morro Bay.
Police tried to stop him on Quintana but he fled once more, tearing down Quintana at over 50 mph.
“Officers again terminated the pursuit for safety concerns,” Sgt. Stuart said. The driver got back onto the highway and sped off towards SLO. Police called in air support.
“With the assistance of the CHP Helicopter H70,” Sgt. Stuart said, “H70 was able to locate Kim’s vehicle in the City of San Luis Obispo and follow it to an address on Farrier Court, where the vehicle came to a stop.”
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and arrested Kim, turning him over to MBPD for the arrest. Kim was booked into County Jail and charged with suspicion of felony reckless driving while evading police; felony making criminal threats; and a parole violation.
Police are asking the public’s help with the case. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact police at: (805) 772-6225 or Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-STOP.
