By City News Service
Police sped through Burbank streets March 19 in pursuit of a stolen vehicle suspect who eluded law enforcement while driving a Mercedes SUV at high rates of speed from Santa Monica to Sylmar.
The man was apprehended and was taken into custody following a successful end to the chase.
Officers began pursuing two occupants in a stolen vehicle out of Texas around 6:50 p.m. at Fifth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The driver of the stolen vehicle briefly drove on the Santa Monica (10) Freeway near Palms before exiting onto West Adams Boulevard in the Jefferson Park area, KCAL reported.
Police had temporarily gone into tracking mode due to the chase turning dangerous.
The driver continued traveling on streets and eventually returned onto Interstate 10 before merging into the northbound Harbor (110) Freeway.
KCAL reported that the California Highway Patrol took over the chase shortly before 7:30 p.m., during which time the driver exited the freeway onto Andover Drive and San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank, occasionally driving erratically and on the wrong side of the street.
At around 8 p.m., the vehicle stopped at the Metro train station in Sylmar, where the suspects fled on foot near Truman Street and San Fernando Road.
The driver briefly ran into a marijuana dispensary moments before being tackled by officers and taken into custody.
Authorities were still searching for the passenger in the SUV as of March 19.
First published in the March 23 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
