Carjacking suspect in custody as hourslong pursuit from Fontana to Compton ends
A carjacking suspect in a white Chevy Silverado, who led police on a two-hour, mostly slow-moving pursuit from San Bernardino County to Los Angeles County, was ultimately taken into custody in Compton.
The chase began in Fontana, where the suspect stole the vehicle by force, then moved largely along the E. 10 Freeway to East Los Angeles, then to downtown Los Angeles on surface streets.
Carjacking victim Ron Knesal said he was parked in the China Cook restaurant parking lot at Sierra Avenue and Valley Boulevard when the suspect grabbed the keys out of his hands, and they began to tussle.
"We were wrestling and fighting inside the truck. I was doing everything I could to keep him from starting that truck and putting it into gear. But every time I'd get a good hold on him, he slipped right out," Knesal said. The suspect stole the truck and drove off.
California Highway Patrol assisted the Fontana Police Department and trailed the pickup truck as the driver weaved through traffic, driving the wrong way at times, stopping, slowing, and speeding to 50 mph on surface streets.
At E. 6th and S. Alameda streets, the driver slowed to a stop, seemingly ending the chase, but then continued driving erratically through downtown LA.
Police executed a PIT maneuver, almost pinning the driver at E. 8th Street and S. Boyle Ave., but the driver was able to get away, moving at slow speeds onto the south 5 Freeway, then onto the 710 south.
Nearly two hours into the pursuit, the driver exited the 710 Freeway into Compton and rolled through the neighborhood below 10 mph.
The pursuit came to a crawling stop at Wright Road and Fertile Street, as the CHP laid a spike strip and used its vehicles to pin the truck in place.
The suspect came out with his hands up and was taken into custody around 2:30 p.m.
"You watch him on TV, and you think, poor guy, you know. And you watch your own truck being chased on the freeways and whatnot, you're just like, is this happening?" Knesal said.
He said the plan is to get his truck back once he finds out where it is and to deal with insurance on Monday.
"Just keep on trucking and try to get eyes in the back of my head from now on," he said.
