Wild car chase ends in lobby of local hotel

The driver of an allegedly stolen car exceeding speeds of 100 mph led the California Highway Patrol and Santa Ana and Costa Mesa police around freeways and streets for half an hour early Friday. The chase didn’t end there, as Santa Ana police chased the driver on foot through the kitchen of the Hilton Costa Mesa and into the lobby, where they subdued him with a single shot from a Taser, police said.

Ultimately, Daniel Joseph Gallegos, a 38-year-old Santa Ana resident, was booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle, evading arrest by pursuit, parole violation and possession of narcotics for the purpose of selling them, police said. Gallegos was on parole for a prior burglary conviction, police said, and he is ineligible for bail.

When the chase started, CHP officers didn’t even realize the 2005 gray Honda two-door was stolen, Santa Ana Police Cmdr. Baltasar De La Riva said. At about 1:40 a.m., CHP officers noticed a Honda with paper plates going northbound on the Costa Mesa Freeway (55) near 19th Street at 110 mph, and they pursued the vehicle by car and helicopter.

Costa Mesa police were briefly involved when the chase crossed into the city, but quickly the driver went north, and they left the chase to the CHP and Santa Ana police, officials said.

The Honda was driven north on the the Corona del Mar Freeway (73) and then exited and headed north into Santa Ana, where Santa Ana police joined the chase. De La Riva said the call for assistance came at 1:42 a.m., as the car passed the intersection of West MacArthur and Harbor boulevards. He said the car traversed several areas of Santa Ana, running red lights and exceeding 70 mph on surface streets.

Finally, Santa Ana police said, the car took the 55 Freeway south into Costa Mesa near South Coast Plaza, exiting at Bear Street and traveling south on Bristol Street on the wrong side of the road. The car drove into the parking structure adjacent to the Hilton Costa Mesa at Bristol Street and Paularino Avenue, where officers lost track of the vehicle, police said.

Officers set up a perimeter around the hotel, and after a few minutes they saw the suspect running into the Hilton’s back door. Officers chased him through the Hilton, through its kitchen and into a lobby and bar area. They subdued him with a Taser there and put him under arrest.

After Gallegos was arrested, De La Riva said, police searched the car and found methamphetamines.

“Search of the vehicle revealed the suspect had multiple bindles containing meth, consistent with the sale of drugs,” he said. “Additional paraphernalia like scales were found as well.”

Malcolm Rutherford, head of security at the Hilton, said no property was damaged and no guests were in danger.

“None of our guests even knew about it,” he said. “It was 2 a.m., after all.”

Rutherford said his guards were present in case they were needed but stood back and allowed police to do their job.