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Man who led deputies on horse chase charged with multiple felonies
Francis Jared Pusok, 30, of Apple Valley has been charged with 11 felonies and three misdemeanor counts in the April 9 pursuit.
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San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
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A man who led San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies on a three-hour chase last month and whose subsequent beating was filmed by a news helicopter has been charged with multiple counts in the pursuit.
Francis Jared Pusok, 30, of Apple Valley has been charged with 11 felonies and three misdemeanor counts in the April 9 pursuit, including evading an officer, resisting arrest and cruelty to an animal.
San Bernardino Sheriff's deputies were following up on an identity theft investigation in Apple Valley when Pusok fled the residence in a car.
He led authorities on a pursuit before abandoning the vehicle and stealing a horse belonging to passersby.
Pusok eventually fell off the horse. He was immediately tased, punched and kicked by several deputies while on the ground and appearing to surrender.
An NBC 4 news helicopter had been filming the chase when the beating occurred.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, opened investigations into the beating.
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The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors announced less than two weeks later it would pay Pusok $650,000 to settle brutality allegations against the deputies involved.
Jolene Rhonda Ruth Bindner, Pusok's girlfriend, was also charged with three felony counts for allegedly receiving stolen property, including a U-Haul trailer.
Pusok is currently out on $650,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled for June 16, 2015.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 19 years, 4 months in state prison, according to a press release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
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