Daiyaan Henderson, 21, was taken into custody without incident Wednesday on suspicion of kidnapping, child endangerment and felony evading, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. He was being held without bail, according to jail records.
The incident began with an armed robbery in Beverly Hills, authorities said. Hawthorne police later spotted several suspects in a vehicle and a chase started around 5:40 p.m.
The pursuit headed into the South Los Angeles area as Hawthorne police asked for assistance from sheriff's deputies.
The driver pulled over a short time later in South L.A. and three men jumped out of the car and ran off. Police set up a containment and apprehended two of the suspects, who were later turned over to Beverly Hills police.
But the third suspect got into another vehicle, a Kia sedan, and quickly took off, and another chase ensued.
Suspect emerges with baby at end of chase
Deputies at the time believed he had carjacked that vehicle. They weren't aware until later that a woman and her infant daughter were also in the car.
The Kia driver fled over surface streets in the downtown L.A. area, weaving through traffic, running red lights and at times heading the wrong way into oncoming traffic. At one point, the Kia hit 60-70 mph on surface streets in the Culver City area.
The suspect became trapped when he encountered a dead-end road in Blair Hills. Deputies blocked him in from the back, prompting a tense minutes-long standoff.
The suspect then apparently began to tell authorities he had a baby in the car. AIR7 captured the suspect holding the small child in his lap in the driver's seat.
Seconds later, a woman emerged from the back seat, holding the child in her arms. The driver also got out; he hugged the woman and child before she walked over to the deputies.
The suspect then complied with deputies' commands and was handcuffed. Deputies later indicated the suspect was the infant's father.
The suspect apparently livestreamed during the chase and the woman can be heard repeatedly shouting at him to pull the car over and telling him he was putting the baby at risk.
The woman was not arrested. Deputies provided food and medical attention to the baby girl, as well as changing her diaper, authorities said. The child was initially crying but later fell asleep and was described in good condition. She was released to her mother.
Deputy Adriana Martinez was among the deputies who cared for the child.
"I was just thankful I was there," Martinez said at an evening news conference. "My concern was the baby. She was crying and I wanted to comfort her. My motherly instincts kicked in. I tried to soothe her, stop her from crying. We ended up taking care of her. It was great to be there. It made me feel like I was holding my daughter when she was small."
The deputies said they were shocked when they realized the suspect had led deputies on the dangerous chase with his own child in the car.
"It's crazy to think that not only is this guy driving like a madman, not only does he have his two-month-old daughter in the car and his child's mother, but he's taking the time to get on his phone and livestream the whole thing," said Deputy Tony Lomedico. "It goes beyond words when you meet an individual like that."