The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has charged a 33-year-old Torrance man with two felony charges and one misdemeanor alleging he attempted to hit Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies with his vehicle before fleeing on June 3.
Matthew Wagner, 33, of Torrance, was observed by a woman in the Trader Joe’s parking lot off Golden Valley Road exhibiting erratic behavior and driving before she called the sheriff’s station, according to Watch Sgt. Johnny Gillespie.
When deputies arrived, they located Wagner and attempted to pull over the vehicle, but he attempted to hit the deputies and then fled the parking lot, said Gillespie.
He said the pursuit lasted about 2.5 miles from the parking lot, ending at the intersection of Honey Maple Street and Beech Willow Lane.
Deputies were able to extract Wagner from his vehicle without incident and arrest him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon against a public officer without great bodily injury, said Gillespie.
The three charges Wagner faces are assault upon a peace officer or firefighter, fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, and resisting, delaying, or obstructing a public officer, peace officer or emergency medical technician, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department arrest records available online.
“It is further alleged as to count(s) 1 and 2 that the defendant(s), Matthew David Wagner, engaged in violent conduct in committing the above offense(s) that indicates a serious danger to society, with the meaning of California Rules of Court Rule 4.421(b)(1),” according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.
Court records indicate that Wagner pleaded not guilty to all three charges and denied any and all allegations.
Wagner remains in custody at the time of this story’s publication and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on June 18 at San Fernando Superior Court.
