Deputies use grappler to stop reported eluder

Douglas County deputies deployed a new tool to stop a man who was reportedly driving up to 100 mph into Nevada early Friday morning.

Sheriff Dan Coverley said that at around 12:36 a.m., his office was asked to look out for a black Mercedes heading north on Highway 395.

The vehicle was reportedly involved in an armed robbery in Lancaster on Thursday and were considered armed and dangerous according to a bulletin from the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers spotted the vehicle in Walker Canyon, and with Mono County Sheriff’s deputies tried to stop it.

The driver, later identified as Joseph Baird, 27, of Fresno, Calif., refused to stop and accelerated to more than 100 mph northbound into Nevada at Topaz Lake.

Joseph Baird

 

Coverley said deputies deployed a grappler police bumper system which successfully stopped the Mercedes near the entrance to the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery in southern Carson Valley.

Once stopped, deputies spent 20 minutes convincing Baird to exit his vehicle and he was taken into custody on several felonies, including eluding.

Baird appeared in East Fork Justice Court on Friday morning where his bail was set at $105,770. East Fork Justice of the Peace Pro Tem Tom Perkins found he qualified for an attorney and ordered him to return to court next week.

Sheriff’s investigators are working with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office to assist in their investigation regarding the armed robbery.

“I am very proud of my deputies for stopping Baird before he got into town,” Coverley said. “The use of the grappler is a game changer for us, giving us the ability to stop a vehicle safely, when they try to run from us.”