Man wanted in S.D. faces new charges

REDDING – A convicted felon from Santee pleaded not guilty yesterday in Shasta County Superior Court to numerous felonies.

One allegation is he fired at deputies and led them on an hours-long manhunt.

Thomas Edward DeSilva, 25, had been sought by San Diego authorities since April in connection with several robberies. He was stopped Friday by a Shasta County Sheriff's deputy on Interstate 5 in Anderson, about 170 miles north of Sacramento.

DeSilva sped from the deputy, reaching more than 100 mph before his car crashed, officers said. He ran to a gas station near the highway and carjacked a vehicle of two women at gunpoint, the Shasta County Sheriff's Department said.

He was arrested about eight hours later, hiding in an outbuilding near a home in Anderson, just south of Redding.

Brian Hazle