Police: U-Haul found abandoned after Petaluma motorcycle heist, highway escape

Investigators are now pouring over an abandoned U-Haul truck in the hunt for evidence after the vehicle, allegedly loaded with five motorcycles stolen in a brazen heist in Petaluma, fled law enforcement in a long-distance chase spanning across the Golden Gate Bridge, police said.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter unit had been the last to see the truck, and lost sight of the vehicle after it slipped under an overpass during the chase on June 19, according to an announcement prepared by Petaluma Police Department Lt. Danny Fish. The truck was located abandoned and empty near the former Candlestick Park in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Petaluma officers had responded to the K&B Motorsports on the 300 block of Petaluma Boulevard North at 9:54 Sunday, after a caller reported seeing the truck back up to the business and drive off with its cargo ramp still dragging along the asphalt. The observer saw windows of the business were shattered, and told police they believed the truck was loaded with merchandise, according to police.

Police said they arrived a short time after the call and began to search likely escape routes in the area. Petaluma Police Officer Brandon Hansen located the truck traveling eastbound on Washington Street near the intersection with Petaluma Boulevard, where he called for backup and attempted to make a traffic stop.

The truck sped off along East Washington, police said, driving 60 miles per hour through a 30 mile-per-hour commercial zone and on the wrong side of the roadway while it made its way to southbound Highway 101.

Petaluma police continued their pursuit on the highway, and were joined by several units from the California Highway Patrol near the Nave Drive interchange, according to police. Petaluma officers ended their involvement at Freitas Parkway, while the CHP, including a CHP helicopter, continued the chase.

Officers from the San Francisco Police Department were called in as the chase headed across the bridge. The CHP continued to track the vehicle, but lost sight as it passed under the overpass in the area of 13th and Howard streets, police said.

Five off road-style motorcycles were reported stolen – a Kawasaki KX100, Kawasaki KX450, Yamaha KX450, KTM 350 XC-F and KTM 350 SX-F. The motorcycles are valued at a combined $38,000, police said, and the building also sustained “significant” damage of an unknown cost, police said.

Detectives from the Sonoma County Auto Theft Task Force are checking the U-Haul for evidence including fingerprints and DNA, and the broader investigation is ongoing. Those with information about the crime are asked to contact task force Detective Adam Wirtz at 707-565-1377.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @Eric_Reports)