A federal grand jury has indicted a Rancho Cucamonga man on charges of robbery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and fleeing police after he allegedly stole a Yosemite National Park employee's vehicle and then drove it off a cliff during a chase. high speed.
Christian Claustro, 28, was indicted Thursday in federal court in Fresno, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a news release. If convicted, Claustro could face up to a total of 13 years in prison and fines of up to $510,000.
Visitors enjoy the snow in Yosemite National Park on December 15, 2022.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
On Dec. 26, 2022, Claustro stole the vehicle of a Yosemite park employee who had stopped to remove a bicycle from the road, according to the U.S. attorney's news release.
Claustro then led a park ranger on a high-speed chase that continued to the Ferguson Slide Bridge, where he drove the wrong way and collided head-on with another motorist, authorities said. Cloister continued until he fell off a cliff, the news release says, plummeting 200 feet to the bottom of a canyon.
