The Daily Journal

A man wanted for allegedly stealing a pound of medical marijuana at gunpoint from an Albion home Friday morning led police on a high speed pursuit on Highway 101, where he was caught after his car hit a spike-strip and overturned.

According to reports from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, the suspect, Joseph Charles Denson, drove to 27250 Albion Ridge Road at around 11:15 a.m. Friday and allegedly threatened Abel Sommer and Soren Helstrom with a small caliber handgun and stole a pound of Sommers' prescription marijuana, according to sheriff's reports.

Helstrom drove Denson to Sommers' home before the robbery occurred, but does not appear to be a suspect in the robbery, according to sheriff's reports.

Denson fled the home in a gold Nissan Maxima. The Sheriff's Office issued an alert for law enforcement to be on the lookout for Denson and the Maxima and noted that he may have been headed for Vallejo and was likely still armed.

Later Friday, Denson was spotted southbound on Highway 101 by officers of the Cloverdale Police Department. Officers tried to pull over Denson but he fled, leading officers in a pursuit at speeds up to 90 mph.

Denson was stopped after he swerved in an attempt to avoid a spike strip that flattened both of the Maxima's passenger side tires. Denson then lost control of the car, which overturned.

He was pulled from the car and taken by ambulance to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries.

The Sheriff's Office and CPD are planning to file charges of armed robbery and evading arrest against Denson, who was also on California state parole for drug crimes, according to sheriff's reports