On Jan. 12, at about 10:50 a.m., officers of the Fort Bragg Police Department were dispatched to the area of East Laurel Street and North Main Street on the report of a stolen United States Postal Service van being sighted in the area. While responding, officers located the stolen van driving southbound in the 600 block of South Main Street.
After confirming that the van was stolen, officers initiated a felony traffic stop on the vehicle in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station at South and Main. The driver of the van, later identified as Aerius Price, immediately exited the van once it stopped and refused to comply with the officers’ verbal commands, despite being held at gunpoint.
After several repeated commands, Price eventually lowered himself to the ground. With guns still on him, a Department of Fish and Wildlife warden arrived at the scene to assist.
Officers moved forward and handcuffed Price. During the handcuffing process, Price violently jerked his arm away from an officer and he had to be forced into handcuffs.
Price was detained at the scene for about two hours while officers waited on a United States Postal Inspector to arrive from Ukiah. Once the Postal Inspector was on scene, both Price and the stolen van were surrendered to their custody. Price was later sent back to San Francisco to face both federal and state criminal charges.