Father-son CHP duo nab suspect

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A suspect thought he could outrun a California Highway Patrol officer the other day in Sonoma County, only to be foiled by the officer's son, who is also a CHP officer.

It all began about 10 p.m. Wednesday when Robert Abeyta, 35, of Berkeley, driving a Chevrolet Trax, sped past CHP Officer Anthony Keeton Sr. at 98 mph on southbound Highway 101 at Shiloh Road in Santa Rosa, authorities said.

Keeton tried to pull the SUV over, but Abeyta refused to stop and sped up to more than 100 mph, said CHP Officer Jonathan Sloat. 

That's when Keeton's son, CHP Officer Anthony Keeton Jr., decided to help. Keeton Jr. drove to the Rohnert Park Expressway on-ramp and set up a spike strip. As the SUV sped past, the device flattened the vehicle's right front tire.

The SUV came to a stop near the West Sierra on-ramp. The father-son team determined that the SUV was stolen in San Francisco two days earlier. 

Abeyta was a parolee at large with a warrant for his arrest. He showed signs of drug intoxication and had methamphetamine and hypodermic needles on him, the CHP said.

Abeyta was arrested on suspicion of DUI, evading police, auto theft, possession of meth and hypodermic needles, possession of stolen property and obstructing officers.

His passenger, Ignacio Silvano, 29, of Berkeley was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property.

The two officers usually work the graveyard shift together in the same car. The night of the pursuit, they had not yet paired up. Seems like that didn't matter for the suspects.