He had a gun and drugs, but couldn’t evade police after driving into a tree

An armed man driving away from Hanford police mowed down a tree Wednesday in a brief chase and was arrested moments later.

Geoffrey Craig Campbell, 32, was booked into Kings County Jail after police went to a north Hanford home to a report of a man with a gun. When they got to the home, Campbell had already left, but he was spotted at a nearby Chevron gas station on Fargo Avenue.

When he saw police, he fled in the sport-utility vehicle. Police tried to stop him at North Star Drive and 11th Avenue. Campbell managed to drive a block or two more when he veered onto a sidewalk and slammed into a tree at 11th and Fargo avenues.

“He didn’t get very far,” said Hanford police Chief Parker Sever.

When police searched the vehicle they found a handgun, loaded hypodermic syringe and other drug paraphernalia, Sever said.

Campbell was booked on suspicion of felony counts of being an ex-felon addict in possession of a firearm, prohibited person in possession of ammunition, and evading police. He also was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and possession of a concealed weapon in a vehicle. He also was wanted on an out-of-county warrant.

Campbell is in Kings County Jail. His bail is set at $500,000.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 1:34 PM with the headline "He had a gun and drugs, but couldn’t evade police after driving into a tree."