A judge has issued a $1 million warrant for the arrest of a National City motorist with methamphetamine in his car after the suspect failed to appear in court.
Michael Wayne Babbitt, 42, posted $100,000 bond after his Aug. 15 arrest, but he did not appear in either Chula Vista or El Cajon Superior Court in late September. On Sept. 26, Judge Daniel Goldstein issued the warrant for his arrest in two cases.
Babbitt was driving in East County with an expired registration and a deputy sheriff tried to pull him over at 2:07 a.m. for speeding. Babbitt failed to yield and a traffic pursuit started on Dehesa Road.
The chase ended in a parking lot in the 2500 block of Sweetwater Road in National City when Babbitt struck a parked car. He and his passenger, Amanda Salama, 26, were arrested after deputies found methamphetamine in his car.
Babbitt was charged with transporting meth, possession of the drug for sale and evading an officer with reckless driving. Salama was charged with transporting meth and concealing a document after the arrest.
Babbitt also was on bond for a separate case in Chula Vista Superior Court for a May 19 incident in which he is charged with evading an officer with reckless driving.
