POMONA (CNS) - A felon who drove away from Pomona officers at a high rate of speed after running a red light -- tossing a firearm out of his car during the pursuit -- is in custody today, police said.
Members of the Pomona Police Department's Major Crimes Task Force arrested Salvador Vasquez, 31, of Pomona, on Tuesday on one count of a felon possessing a firearm and one count of a felon in possession of ammunition, according to the department.
Officers were in the area of Ninth and La Mesa streets around 11 p.m. Tuesday when they noticed that a vehicle did not stop at a red light, police said. The vehicle shut off it lights and sped away with officers in pursuit.
Police located the vehicle in the area of Towne Avenue and Second Street. At that point, police said, the vehicle yielded and the occupants made statements related to discarding a firearm.
Officers retraced the path of the speeding vehicle and located a firearm and loaded magazine in the street, police said.
While it was not clear how many people were in the vehicle, the driver, Vasquez, admitted to throwing the firearm from the vehicle while trying to evade officers, police said.
Vasquez was booked at the Pomona city jail on the weapons violations. Specifics of his criminal record were not immediately known.
Anyone with information regarding the incident was urged to contact the Pomona Police Department at 909-620-2085.
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.