Spokane police arrested the fleeing driver of a stolen rental car after a using their patrol car to stop the vehicle late Tuesday.

  Christopher B. Gooch, 35, told police his cousin told him the car was stolen when police pulled up next to them, and "I wasn't just going to pull over and go to jail for a stolen car," according to court documents.

Gooch had fled police in a 2011 Toyota Corolla while southbound on North Market Street near East Wellesley Avenue. He sped through red lights before Officer Sean Wheeler nudged the back of the Corolla with his patrol car, which forced it into a spin that brought it to a stop

. Gooch ran from the car but was arrested in a backyard near Buckeye and Atlantic. Wheeler noted in court documents that he advised Gooch that "he was a terrible driver."

Police say Gooch had suspected stolen checks on him when he was booked into jail. He remains jailed in this case and another attempting to elude police case and a felony drug case from last year.

Gooch's cousin, Justin C. Taylor, 27, who police suspect stole the car, is jailed on drug and car theft charges.

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