This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Detectives Johnson and Jason of the Manteca Police Department were partners assigned to the gang suppression unit. Johnson and May were in their unmarked Dodge Charger. Johnson was driving and May was in the front passenger seat. Both were wearing their marked police vests with badges. They were stopped in downtown Manteca behind a dark green Isuzu Rodeo waiting for a train to pass. They noticed that the registration on the Isuzu was expired and that a trailer hitch was obscuring part of the license plate, both of which constituted Vehicle Code violations. Once the train passed, they activated the emergency lights and strobes on their car. The vehicles proceeded over the train tracks and the Isuzu slowed and started to pull over to the side of the road, although it did not fully stop and kept creeping forward. Johnson activated the siren on his vehicle, but the Isuzu continued to move, although very slowly. Johnson stopped and May got out to contact the driver of the Isuzu. The detectives had a feeling that Isuzu might flee, so Johnson stayed in the car. As May approached the car, the driver of the Isuzu looked in the rearview mirror and May saw his eyes, part of his forehead, and part of his nose. May had a clear, unobstructed view of the driver's face. May immediately recognized the driver from at least 10 prior contacts, although he could not recall his name at that particular moment. At trial, May identified D as the driver. May yelled for the driver to turn the car off. The Isuzu pulled away from the curb and sped away. The driver of an Isuzu Rodeo SUV led two detectives and other officers on a 2.6-mile vehicle pursuit through residential streets in Manteca. The Isuzu even did a U-turn where the May again saw his clear face. The Isuzu ran at least four more stop signs during the pursuit and traveled at speeds of 45 to 50 miles per hour, although the speed limit was 25 miles per hour or less. Three or four marked police vehicles joined the pursuit. Eventually, the Isuzu slowed, the driver jumped out and fled on foot, and the Isuzu continued forward and struck a parked vehicle. Johnson testified that he never got a clear view of the driver. Johnson estimated that the driver was approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighed 150 pounds. Johnson testified that the driver was not a large person. Ronald Mancia, who lived on Michigan Avenue, described the person as a tall white male. Johnson searched the Isuzu and the registration, which indicated the vehicle was registered to Thomas Ferguson. Johnson was familiar with Ferguson from numerous prior contacts. According to Johnson, Ferguson was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed approximately 220 pounds. Johnson testified that the person he saw running from the Isuzu was much smaller than Ferguson. Johnson testified: 'I believe he was wearing a hat that evening.' However, Johnson further testified that he did not know if the driver was wearing a baseball hat throughout the duration of the pursuit. May on cross responded: 'There was no hat.' May eventually recognized D as the person he saw driving the Isuzu. May testified that he was 100 percent certain D was the driver of the Isuzu. May testified he had seen D in the vicinity of the Isuzu on a prior occasion in the parking lot of a Motel 6 in Manteca a few weeks before the pursuit. During the pursuit, an officer stated: 'Looks like one occupant, guys, one male occupant with a baseball cap on.' The prosecutor objected to the admission of the audio portion of the recording. She stated that it did not appear that the officer was under any particular stress or excitement, noting, 'This is his job as a law enforcement officer' to claim the statement was a spontaneous statement and admissible. The trial court ultimately precluded that audio holding it was not a spontaneous statement. D was convicted of felony evasion of a police officer with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property and hit-and-run resulting in property damage. D appealed.

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