Burglary suspect faces seven charges

A criminal complaint was filed against the burglary suspect arrested Monday after a multi-agency chase that zigzagged from Yuma to the Andrade, Calif., port of entry and back into Yuma again. It was his third consecutive day appearing in Yuma Justice Court for offenses relating to the incident.

Martin Saucedo Ramirez, 42, of Calexico, was charged with felony counts of burglary, possession of burglary tools, theft, unlawful flight from pursuing law enforcement and two counts of trafficking in stolen property.

He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of theft. Saucedo Ramirez was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, who read the charges against him.

In addition to scheduling Saucedo Ramirez's next court date, a preliminary hearing for 4 p.m. on March 1, Stewart also appointed an attorney to represent him and set his portion of the cost for paying for the attorney at $750.

Stewart, at the request of the Yuma County Attorney's Office, also ordered Saucedo Ramirez's bond remain at $125,000, which he had set during previous hearings. Saucedo Ramirez appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday and was informed that he was facing six felony charges and being held on $100,000 bond.

He appeared again on Wednesday, at which time he was told that he was facing an additional misdemeanor count of theft, at which time bond on that charge was set at $25,000. Since all the charges Ramirez is facing were combined into one case, Stewart also chose to combine both bond amounts to set the total amount needed to make bail.

According to the Yuma Police Department, the chase started at 11:06 a.m. Monday when a Yuma police officer attempted to pull over Saucedo Ramirez in the 1900 block of West 8th Street. He then reportedly fled into California via the 4th Avenue Bridge, turned onto Interstate 8 and made for the Algodones exit, now with the California Highway Patrol in pursuit.

Authorities at the Andrade port were ready, so Saucedo Ramirez reportedly reversed course and returned to Yuma the way he came, now with the CHP, the Imperial County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Border Patrol behind him. Yuma police officers picked up the pursuit and followed Saucedo Ramirez until 11:24 a.m., when he crashed his pickup into a telephone pole at 1st Street and Avenue B.

Stolen property was visible in the cab of the pickup, YPD said, and a search warrant was later served to recover additional items and evidence from the truck.

Saucedo Ramirez was treated and released from Yuma Regional Medical Center for injuries received in the crash and was later booked into the Yuma County jail.

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.