Countywide : Chase Leads to Arrest --but Not of Robber

A motorcyclist mistaken for a bank robbery suspect led sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase Wednesday that began in South County and ended in Anaheim, officials said.

Sheriff’s deputies first mistook the motorcyclist, Jose Manuel Mata, 21, of Fullerton, for a bank robber who was seen fleeing the crime scene on a motorcycle just minutes before the chase, Lt. Richard Paddock said.

Ten minutes after a robbery at Union Bank in San Juan Capistrano, law enforcement officers spotted Mata speeding by the Alicia Parkway exit on the Santa Ana Freeway.

“The robber was seen wearing a purple shirt; Mata was wearing a purple sweat shirt,” Paddock said. But witnesses described the robber as white. Mata is Latino.

“He was wearing a helmet, so it was very hard to tell,” Paddock said. “But he was driving north, just six off-ramps from the robbery, and going really fast during rush hour.”

When Mata turned and saw sheriff’s deputies following him, he sped up and led officers on a 30-minute chase that cut through heavy 4 p.m. traffic.

The chase ended when Mata and an officer collided at the Katella Avenue off-ramp. Mata was thrown from the bike, suffering scrapes.

He was booked on suspicion of stealing the motorcycle and evading police arrest, Paddock said.

The bank robber, described as 5 feet 9, thin and in his 20s, remained at large Wednesday.