WOODLAND HILLS (CNS) - An armed driver wanted for assault with a deadly weapon who barricaded himself inside his vehicle for hours following a pursuit that ended when his vehicle came to a stop on a grassy hillside was in custody this morning.
“(The suspect) was involved in a domestic violence incident where he assaulted someone with a weapon,'' Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Alan Hamilton told reporters Thursday night. “That was the origin of the pursuit.''
The chase began about 5 p.m. Thursday at Archwood Street and Winnetka Avenue, said Officer Tony Im.
The driver led police through surface streets and, at one point, onto the Ventura (101) Freeway before exiting and driving on Del Valle Street, a dead-end.
The driver plowed through a chain-link fence before becoming stuck on a hillside near Ventura Boulevard.
Multiple police cruisers arrived on the scene, but the driver remained inside the car for hours, at one point spray painting the windows of the vehicle with blue paint.
“The suspect (created) a hazardous situation because when he obscures our view, we don't know what he's doing outside of our view,'' Hamilton said. “So, obviously, he could be doing anything from moving items around inside the vehicle to arming himself.''
An LAPD SWAT team was called to the scene and deployed a gas inside the vehicle about 8:30 p.m. Moments later, the man jumped from the car and began running away, chased by a police dog.
“When he exited the car, he was armed with a knife,'' Hamilton said. “He was taken into custody after a minor use of force.''
Officers used a stun gun to take the man into custody. The suspect also sustained bite wounds from a police dog and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
He was later booked on “several felony charges,'' Hamilton said.
The suspect's name was not immediately released.
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