Two Placerville area men arrested after high-speed chase in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two El Dorado County men have been arrested on multiple charges after leading law enforcement on a chase through South Lake Tahoe and Meyers Friday afternoon.

At 1:12 p.m., the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) was notified of a reckless driver on US50 near Heidi's Restaurant. The person who called it in said the car was a Lexus 4-door and it was heading west.

One minute later the same vehicle was involved in a collision in front of Freshie's Restaurant, less than a mile away. SLTPD arrived at the scene and found the vehicle with two occupants had fled in a westerly direction on US50.

An officer with SLTPD spotted the Lexus at 1:20 p.m. on the highway near Blue Lake Avenue an attempted a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle failed to yield to the officer and took off on US50 towards North Upper Truckee Rd and Meyers.

The Lexus reached speeds of 80 mph per SLTPD Sgt. Jason Cheney.

Officers shut down the pursuit and their speed due to safety concerns and traffic. They were joined by El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

At 1:28 p.m., responding units were flagged down by a citizen at Coyote Ridge Road and Lake Tahoe Boulevard. That person told officers they saw the driver of the Lexus toss out a bag and what appeared to be a shotgun.

Officers located the bag and next to it was a sawed-off shotgun that was fully loaded and had one bullet in the chamber, Cheney said. The car was located on Grizzley Mountain, east of North Upper Truckee but both occupants were not inside.

Another unit was flagged down by workers in the area at 2:08 p.m. who told law enforcement they saw a shirtless man with tattoos, about 5'6", that looked suspicious. Officers found the man and determined he was associated with the Lexus.

A CHP helicopter joined in the search with EDSO, CHP and SLTPD and a short time later the second suspect was located.

Both suspects were male and initially lied to officers about their identity according to Cheney.

Upon investigation, it was determined the men were Saul Beltran Diaz, age 26, a transient from El Dorado County, and 23-year-old Tyler Jacob Woodrow of Placerville.

Diaz is in the El Dorado County Jail facing charges of Vehicle Theft, Being an Accessory, Violation of Probation, and Obstruction of Justice. His bail has been set at $75,000. His probation is from a previous El Dorado County .stolen vehicle case.

Woodrow is also in the El Dorado County Jail, but since he has a felony no-bail warrant out for his arrest for assault on a police officer in El Dorado County, he has no bail set at this time. He is facing additional charges of Vehicle Theft, Giving False ID, and Resisting Arrest.

The Lexus had been reported stolen out of Georgetown, Calif.