LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A pickup truck driver was under arrest after leading police on a chase from Huntington Park to downtown Los Angeles and officers found a loaded firearm in the truck.
The chase began around 10:30 p.m. Monday when Huntington Park police officers spotted a man driving a truck that was towing a suspected stolen vehicle, which the driver dumped near the railroad tracks close to the intersection of Randolph Street and Maywood Avenue, according to Lt. Patrick Kraut of the Huntington Park Police Department.
After officers witnessed the truck driver ditch the suspected stolen vehicle, a passenger jumped from the truck and fled along the railroad tracks and the driver fled from officers, he said.
Police briefly turned the pursuit over to the California Highway Patrol, before the driver exited the Hollywood (101) Freeway and made his way to downtown Los Angeles, Kraut said.
The driver led Los Angeles Police Department officers on a chase through the downtown area, going the wrong way on one-way streets at least nine times, police said.
The suspect ditched the pickup truck in the 700 block of Hope Street and ran into a parking garage, where he was taken into custody. After a search of the truck, officers located a loaded firearm in the driver side door, Kraut said.
The suspect will be charged with auto theft, a weapons charge and evading, he said.
After the driver ran from the truck, the vehicle rolled to a stop at the intersection of Eighth and Hope streets.
Police have not been able to locate the passenger who ran from the truck in Huntington Park, Kraut said.
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