A probationer who led Murrieta police on a pursuit through the city in a stolen vehicle that crashed at an intersection, injuring eight people, was sentenced on Monday, May 6, to five years in state prison. In March, Ricardo Avila Perez, 31, of Perris admitted to eluding law enforcement resulting in great bodily injury and driving under the influence of drugs resulting in injuries under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of controlled substances for sale. During a hearing on Monday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Superior Court Judge Jiff Zimel imposed the sentence. The pursuit happened shortly before 11 a.m. on March 5, beginning less than a block from the Murrieta Police Department, at Jefferson Avenue and Juniper Street, according to police. Perez was passing through the intersection when he committed an unspecified traffic violation, police said, prompting a patrol unit to try and pull him over. Then it was discovered the vehicle had been stolen. “As officers approached the vehicle to make contact with its two occupants, the driver of the stolen vehicle sped away,” the police said. Patrol officers went after him, and the chase proceeded northbound for three miles, until Perez ran a red light at Nutmeg Street and Jackson Avenue in the city and struck three vehicles, police said. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | OC man who organized ‘fighters’ for Jan. 6 riot gets home detention and probation Crime and Public Safety | No goodbyes: Man sentenced for killing Hemet woman, dumping still-missing body in OC Crime and Public Safety | Getty Museum loses appeal as court upholds Italy’s right to seize Greek statue Crime and Public Safety | Man gets 2 life sentences for killing nephews in Arcadia with bolt cutter, pipe Crime and Public Safety | Conception dive boat captain sentenced to 4 years in fiery deaths of 34 off Santa Cruz Island Six people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, along with Perez and the woman in the vehicle with him. All were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar and have recovered. Perez had a string of prior felony and misdemeanor convictions, according to court records, including evading, receiving a stolen vehicle, being a felon in possession of a gun, and driving under the influence of drugs.