Behind the Badge
Two 17-year-old males from Anaheim are in custody after a high-speed pursuit in a stolen vehicle ended with a crash on a freeway off-ramp early Wednesday morning, police said.
Three police agencies – Garden Grove, Buena Park and La Palma – were involved in the capture and arrests of the suspects, who because of their age are not being identified.
A news release from the Garden Grove PD described the dramatic events, which ended with injuries to the suspects but no one else.
The chase began at 3:59 a.m. at Beach and Garden Grove Boulevards after a Garden Grove officer ran the license plate of a gray 1992 Nissan Sentra two-door, according to the news release.
The car came back as a stolen vehicle reported to the Anaheim PD.
When the Garden Grove officer tried to stop the car, the driver sped away and the pursuit began.
The Nissan moved at high speeds westbound on Garden Grove Boulevard to Knott Street and then northbound on Knott to the westbound 91 Freeway, leaving the Garden Grove unit some distance behind, according to the news release.
Buena Park and La Palma PD units then took over the chase and pursued the Nissan westbound on the 91.
As the car approached Carmenita Road, the driver attempted to exit the freeway. But the Nissan was moving too fast to make the turn and rolled over and crashed on the Carmenita off-ramp.
The driver and passenger got out of the car and attempted to flee but were captured by officers a short distance from the scene, according to the news release. The suspects were transported to La Palma Hospital.
The driver was found to be on probation and subject to GPS tracking. He was not wearing the GPS tracking device at the time of the pursuit and apparently had cut it
off of his ankle some time ago, according to the news release.
Earlier Wednesday morning, both suspects had been seen in the same Nissan in the area of Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove — apparently just after they allegedly had stolen the car.
At that time, the suspects were seen looking into cars possibly with the intent to steal or burglarize them, but they were interrupted by hotel security and fled, according to the news release.
When security called the police, the Nissan had not yet been entered into the system as a stolen vehicle; Anaheim PD officers still were taking that report from a victim at Harbor Boulevard and Orangewood Avenue, just a half-mile away.
Investigators will be following up to determine if the suspects are responsible for other crimes in the area after stealing the car.
Once cleared at the hospital, both suspects will be booked at the Orange County Juvenile Hall on charges of auto theft and felony evading likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
