Man who escaped from patrol car charged for sexual offenses involving a minor

The Yuma man suspected of selling drugs, and later escaped from a patrol vehicle following his arrest, was back in court again on Friday, this time for several sexual offenses involving a minor.

Jonathon Emanuel Pereda, 19, was charged with eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for having fully nude images of a 15-year-old girl on his cell phone.

Pereda appeared in Yuma County Superior Court earlier this week where he was charged with multiple felony charges related to drugs and weapons, which stemmed from his arrest last month, in which he escaped from the patrol car.

Pereda is being held on a $200,000 cash only bond. Unlike paying a percentage of the amount through a bail bond company, the full amount must be paid in cash in order to be released from custody. Pereda also told the court he planned to represent himself. His next court date is a preliminary hearing set for 4 p.m. on Dec. 16th.

Yuma County sheriff deputies launched an extensive manhunt for Pereda back on Nov. 18 after he managed to escape from them. On that day he was detained and placed in a patrol vehicle while sheriff deputies executed a search warrant at his home.

Pereda managed to open a window in the patrol vehicle, and while deputies were engaged with several family members, he exited the vehicle and fled on foot into the darkness. An extensive ground search was conducted utilizing the assistance of other agencies, including a canine unit, but he was not found.

While on the run deputies maintained an intensive search for Pereda and contacted several of his associates during their investigation. He was eventually persuaded to surrender to authorities by his mother and he contacted YCSO Tuesday morning.

At about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Pereda, who was located near Avenue 6E and 46th Street, was arrested without incident.

During their investigation into Pereda's whereabouts, deputies found evidence indicating he had allegedly been involved in sex crimes involving at least one minor.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.