SANTA ANA, Calif. – A third-striker parolee was charged today with aggravated assault on a peace officer and carjacking after initiating a pursuit and injuring the K9 that apprehended him.

Defendant	Charges	Maximum Sentence	Court Date
Antonio Padilla Jr., 37, Palm Desert	Charged today with the following counts: Felony Aggravated assault on a peace officer Carjacking Assault with a deadly weapon Injuring a police animal Evading while driving recklessly Evading a peace officer and driving against traffic Misdemeanor (3) Hit and run with property damage Prior Serious Felony Convictions First degree robbery in 1998 in Orange County Criminal threats in 2006 in Riverside Unlawful possession of a firearm in 2007 Burglary in Riverside in 2011 Inflicting corporal injury in Riverside in 2017	120 years to life in state prison	Arraignment Date and time to be determined Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana

Circumstances of the Case

• On Feb. 18, 2018, a Garden Grove Police Department (GGPD) motorcycle patrol officer pulled Padilla over for speeding.
• While the officer wrote the citation, Padilla is accused of starting his truck and accelerating toward the officer, who was able to leap out of the way.
• On Feb. 26, 2018, GGPD detectives located Padilla in a vehicle Santa Ana and requested assistance from the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD).
• Padilla is accused of initiating a pursuit down surface streets, driving in excess of 60 miles per hour while running stop signs and traffic lights.
• The defendant is accused of leading officers on a high-speed pursuit through Irvine, where he is further accused of fleeing his vehicle before carjacking and assaulting a young woman and her brother by dragging the victim out of her SUV.
• Padilla is accused of crashing the stolen vehicle into a curb and fleeing on foot.
• SAPD deployed K9 Puskas, who apprehended the defendant.
• As Puskas held on to Padilla, the defendant is accused of striking the K9 repeatedly. Puskas retained control of the defendant until officers took him into custody.
• Puskas was transported to a local hospital where he underwent surgery. The K9 sustained severe injuries, including the loss of most of his upper and lower teeth, and is currently in recovery.

Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos, Special Prosecutions Unit

Orange County District Attorney / Case # 18HF0329/ February 28, 2018