Man charged with crashing into four police cars, pinning San Ramon detective behind patrol car door

SAN RAMON — Contra Costa prosecutors have charged a man with assaulting police after he allegedly crashed a Volkswagen into four police cars, pinning one detective behind the open door of his patrol car, court records show.

Anthony Parsons was charged with five counts of assault on a peace officer, one count of receiving stolen property and one count of evading police. The case was filed in early January, but Parsons was held to answer at a recent preliminary hearing. He is out of custody and set to be arraigned on Feb. 9, court records show.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight on Dec. 29, 2025.

Officers were monitoring a parked Infiniti that was reported stolen and believed to be involved in a series of burglaries, when they saw a Volkswagen pull up and its occupants manipulate the Infiniti. When police attempted to stop them on Kyler Lane, the Volkswagen took off, according to court records.

Police officers attempted to box it in, but the driver of the car crashed into multiple San Ramon police vehicles, pinning Detective Patrick Espiritu behind an open door, authorities said in court filings.

The detective was not seriously hurt, authorities said.

Police chased the Volkswagen to an apartment complex on the 2300 block of Ivy Hill Way and arrested Parsons and an Antioch man. Two other occupants ran off, police said.

Parsons allegedly told police that, “I drove down that neighborhood and (screwed) up” but when asked to evaluated, he requested a lawyer, according to records. The four police vehicles he allegedly collided with were occupied by a total of five officers, authorities said.

Police found ski masks and three key fobs inside the Volkswagen, and stolen tools inside the Infiniti, according to court records.