By
Scott Thomas Anderson
An eight-day manhunt for Anthony Edward Kesler, known better on the streets as "Pancho," ended in Jackson Wednesday night, Sept. 16, when cops tracked the parolee-at-large to a house on Stasal Avenue.
Considered armed and dangerous, officers drew their guns on Kesler and then took him away.
Kesler's latest run-in with the law was triggered on the morning of Sept. 9 when he ran away from the scene of a car accident after seriously hurting Neil Frisby. Frisby had been driving to work on Highway 26 from his home in Wilseyville when, for unknown reasons, Kesler veered straight into his lane in a 1992 Ford Explorer and collided with him head-on. Kesler's Explorer and Frisby's pickup were both destroyed by the impact.
An eyewitness watched Kesler climb out of the twisted wreckage as Frisby lay bleeding in his vehicle. Although it appeared Kesler was badly injured, he managed to escape on foot down the roadside. The witness followed the fleeing parolee for a distance and saw him jump over a steep embankment. Kesler then slid down a hill before vanishing into the woods.
Frisby was rushed to Mercy San Juan Hospital by helicopter. He has since undergone three surgeries to his right leg and ankle, with possibly more surgeries pending.
"He's pretty messed up," Frisby's stepson, Sean Mcatee, told the Ledger Dispatch this week. "He probably won't be walking for a while. Right now it looks like he could miss up to a year of work, maybe longer."
Kesler has been arrested for numerous felonies in the last nine years, including a charge of inflicting corporal injury on a former cohabitant in March 2000, a second charge of inflicting injury on a cohabitant plus three counts of child abuse in March 2002, a third charge of inflicting injury on a cohabitant in December 2004 and a felony charge of spousal battery in January 2007. Kesler was on parole at the time of the accident. The California Highway Patrol issued a "be on the lookout" alert for Kesler to all surrounding law enforcement agencies. In addition, Kesler's parole agent ordered he be taken back into custody.
Officers from the Jackson Police Department, who'd had previous experiences with Kesler, suspected he would make contact with his girlfriend, Tanya Graham. After receiving intelligence that confirmed Kesler was being harbored by Grahm at her home on Stasal Avenue, Officer Mike Collins and Detective Chris Mynderup met up with deputies from the Amador County Sheriffs Office and headed over.
"He is someone we considered to be possibly armed and dangerous to approach," said Jackson Police Captain Christy Stidger. "Plus we wanted extra officers in the area because he has a tendency to run and hide."
Collins, Mynderup and the sheriff's deputies were met at the door by Grahm's children who denied Kesler, or "Pancho," was there. The officers removed Graham's children to outside and then began searching the area until they found Kesler hiding behind a couch - evidently still recovering from the injuries sustained in his accident. He was handcuffed and taken to Sutter Amador Hospital where it was determined he was healthy enough to be booked into Amador County Jail.
Kesler remains behind bars on a parole hold. CHP Officer John Harding said he expected his agency would file new charges against Kesler for felony hit and run within a matter of days.
"We're wrapping up our investigation right now," Harding said. While Harding could not comment on whether Kesler was suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he swerved into Frisby's path, he did observe, "Any blood evidence for such an investigation was lost when Kesler fled the scene."
Harding then added, "But we will absolutely charge him with a felony for running like that."
News of Kesler's capture came as a relief to Frisby's family and friends. "We're certainly glad they finally got him," Mcatee said. "It doesn't make what happened any better; but at least he's not out there now."
