Suspect steals two cars, leads authorities on wild pursuit filled with crashes
get the free appA suspect led authorities on an intense pursuit filled with car crashes through Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
At first, authorities began chasing a man driving a black sedan for a traffic violation near Knott's Berry Farm. The suspect drove around Buena Park before getting out of the car to attempt to steal a truck.
After unsuccessful tries, he hopped back into the black sedan and continued to drive before ditching his car in a housing complex. He proceeded to run around the complex before finding a white van. The suspect stole the white van and repeatedly rammed a police cruiser before driving away.
"My refrigerated van was so heavy that he was able to push the police car out of his way by backing up and ramming it and squeezed out," said owner of the stolen van Josh Reynolds.
During the pursuit, the suspect blew out the back-left tire and drove into a gas station with sparking flying from the exposed rim. Shortly after exiting the station, the driver crashed into a parked car. He proceeded to gas the accelerator, creating a massive smoke cloud before jumping out of the van and running away from the police, again.
He ran through a nearby neighborhood, evading police before breaking into a home and stealing keys to a pickup truck. The residents were home at the time and got into a brief fight with the suspect, flashing a knife at him as he tried to drive away with their pickup truck.
"I told him I'm going to have to stab you right now bro," said carjacking victim Andres Benitez. "But my mom just kept screaming and screaming. He saw that my mom was holding me back and he just got out of the house."
Benitez said that he and his brother had just bought the truck less than a month ago.
"It makes me very upset because that was a big investment that I had just made with my brother — like a month ago, less than a month," said Benitez. "Just to see that brand-new truck get stolen with all the equipment on there — it's just heartbreaking."
Police continued to pursue the suspect as he drove on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting oncoming traffic.
The pursuit finally came to an end after the suspect hit another vehicle before being rammed by a police cruiser. The vehicle continued to drive forward into a gas station, before hitting a pump and reversing.
Deputies opened fire at the suspect but seemingly missed the suspect despite hitting the stolen truck several times. After brief standoff deputies approached the vehicle with ballistic shields and detained the suspect, finally bringing an end to the wild pursuit.
Three people were taken to the hospital, with crash-related injuries. No one was hospitalized because of a gunshot wound.
Suspect identified
The suspect in the pursuit has been identified by authorities as 32-year-old Johnny Anchondo. He had a slight injury to his wrist and was taken to the hospital but is now in custody.
Authorities approach vehicle, suspect surrenders
The suspect has surrendered to the authorities.
Authorities approached the vehicle with ballistic shields and broke the driver-side window.
The suspect then put his hand up as police detained him.
Deputies have reason to believe suspect is armed
Deputies believe that the suspect is armed with a gun.
Stolen truck catches on fire nearby by gas station
A flame and cloud of smoke appeared to come out of the back of the stolen truck.
Deputies are currently in a standoff with the suspect.
Suspect crashes, deputies open fire
The suspect crashed into a gas station after being rammed by authorities.
The suspect proceeded to ram into a deputy's cruiser. Following that deputies opened fire.
Sky 2 leaves the scene for fuel; will return
Sky 2 was forced to return to base for fuel.
We will be back over the pursuit as soon as possible.
Suspect drives through shopping center, gets back onto surface street
This wild pursuit continues after the suspect drives through a shopping center.
Homeowner flashes knife at pursuit suspect
The homeowners were involved in a brief fight where at least one of the residents flashed a knife at the suspect
CORRECTION: Previously, CBSLA reported that the homeowners seemingly fired shots at the suspect. Upon review, the apparent shots were reflections from a knife.
Suspect driving on the wrong side of the road nearly hits oncoming cars
The suspect continued to drive away from police after stealing a truck.
The suspect nearly hit two oncoming cars.
Suspect enters home, steals truck
The suspect stole another truck after breaking into someone's home.
The homeowners began brief fight with the suspect before jumping into their car and driving away.
Suspect bails out car, after crashing into a vehicle
The suspect jumped out of his van after it stalled on the street following a crash.
Sparks fly from suspects back left tire
The suspect drives through a gas station while sparks flew from his back left tire.
The suspect crashed also crashed into a passerby's vehicle shortly after exiting the station.
The driver was originally wanted for a traffic violation. Police also said they were wanted for a stolen vehicle and assault with a deadly weapon.
Suspect blows through red lights
The suspect continued to recklessly drive away from police.
The driver clocked in speeds at about 80 mph while on surface streets even driving onto the sidewalk at times.
Anaheim police in pursuit of the suspect
The pursuit began with Fullerton police but was picked up by Anaheim police.
The suspect repeatedly rammed an Anaheim police car before taking off onto a nearby freeway, reaching high speeds.
The driver exited onto Western Avenue and continued to drive at high speeds while also going onto the wrong side of the road.