Man who eluded police arrested

A suspected drug dealer who escaped arrest despite a seven-hour search through vineyards west of Santa Rosa on Thursday was apprehended at a friend's house Saturday afternoon, Santa Rosa police said.

Juan Carlos Jimenez Morales, 25, was taken into custody without incident around 1 p.m. Saturday after police conducted a probation search at his friend's home and found him lying on a mattress on the floor, police Sgt. Mike Clark said.

Though Morales was believed to have been armed at the time of the earlier pursuit, he was not found with a firearm Saturday, Clark said.

Since Thursday afternoon, police had been looking for two men they said had fled a suspected drug house that was under surveillance by members of the department's drug investigations unit.

Police said Morales had driven a vehicle Thursday with police in pursuit from the Herbert Street house near Coddingtown toward Piner and Olivet roads. He and his unidentified passenger jumped from the car and fled on foot, eventually heading into nearby vineyards.

Sonoma County Sheriff's Department personnel, at least one helicopter crew and several tracking dogs joined the search, to no avail, authorities said.

On Saturday, Morales was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest and possession of narcotics with intent to sell.

His passenger at the time of the pursuit is still at large, Clark said.

-- Mary Callahan