LAMONT, Calif. — A Lamont man was arrested Thursday after allegedly kicking off a slow-speed chase with a Kern County Sheriff's deputy while riding a suspected stolen tractor, then hitting the deputy's car with the tractor.
According to KCSO, Jesus Ramirez, 23, was arrested Thursday and booked on several charges, including vehicle theft, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance.
Investigators say around 11:13 p.m. Thursday, deputies at the Lamont Substation received reports of someone trying to steal a tractor from the Grimmway Farms equipment yard.
KCSO says a deputy drove toward the tractor at slow speed with the vehicle's emergency lights activated, but Ramirez ignored the deputy and drove past.
That's when a plow attached to the rear of the tractor hit the patrol car, causing minor damage, according to KCSO.
A short, slow-speed chase then ensued, which ended when the tractor became disabled. Investigators say Ramirez refused to get out of the tractor and, after a brief physical struggle, Ramirez was arrested.
Neither the deputies nor Ramirez were injured in the incident.
Investigators say deputies later learned that before he tried to steal the tractor, Ramirez allegedly burglarized an office trailer on the property and tried to steal a forklift as well.
Ramirez is expected to be arraigned Monday morning in Lamont.
