Man arrested after jumping into river to escape police
A Redding man wanted on outstanding warrants was arrested Sunday afternoon after he jumped into the Sacramento River to get away from police.
Someone reported seeing James Albert Maynard, 39, of Redding near Cypress Avenue and Bechelli Lane about 1:45 p.m. Sunday.
Maynard was wanted on outstanding warrants for domestic violence, false imprisonment, failure to pay child support and other charges, according to Redding police.
When officers arrived and tried to contact Maynard, he and a woman he was with ran in different directions. Maynard scaled a fence and ran east across Interstate 5.
Officers attempted to arrest him in the parking lot of a hotel on Hilltop Drive, but he fled again, this time back across I-5 and through a construction site, police said.
Maynard went down a 200-foot embankment and into the Sacramento River, police said. A Shasta County Sheriff's Office boat and a California Highway Patrol helicopter were sent to help find Maynard, police said.
He was eventually pulled from the water by police and taken to Mercy Medical Center for precautionary treatment for hypothermia and then booked into the Shasta County Jail, police said.
The woman, who police said was sending text messages to Maynard during the chase, was also arrested. Police did not say why she was arrested, but said she was not identified because she was a domestic violence victim.
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