Beating Suspect Arrested After Chase

An Oxnard man suspected of beating his former girlfriend led officers on a wild chase through Oxnard early Monday morning, ramming his pickup into two police cars and allegedly trying to run over one police officer.

The man, 37-year-old Mark Elliot Connor, was arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse, evading arrest and three counts of assault against peace officers, said Oxnard Police Officer Tom Chronister.

The former girlfriend, whose name was withheld, reported the abuse about 6:19 a.m., just as Connor was fleeing the area in his Chevrolet pickup.

After the report, police spotted Connor and pursued him to Wooley Road and Rice Avenue, where he turned his truck off the road and onto a farm field.

Connor’s pickup bogged down in the mud, and Officer Luis McArthur walked over to arrest him. The officer used pepper spray on Connor when he allegedly started to drive away and tried to run McArthur over, Chronister said.

“He was driving relatively slow because of the mud, but the intent was clear. He wanted to run McArthur down,” he said.

Connor drove his truck back onto the asphalt, ramming another officer’s patrol car on Wooley Road. He drove north through Oxnard and then went off the road again into the Santa Clara River bed off of Vineyard Avenue, between Central Avenue and California 118, ramming another officer’s car, Chronister said.

Ten officers finally were able to arrest Connor when his truck got stuck in the mud.

“He didn’t go quietly, that’s for sure,” Chronister said.

Connor was booked into Ventura County Jail, with bail set at $20,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.