Orange County Chase: Murder suspect in custody after pursuit from OC to San Diego County

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
OC murder suspect caught after chase in San Diego County
A murder suspect from Anaheim was taken into custody Tuesday after leading police on a chase that ended in San Diego County.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY (KABC) -- A suspect wanted in a fatal shooting on Christmas Eve in Anaheim was taken into custody Tuesday after leading police on a chase that ended in San Diego County.

The chase began around 7:30 a.m. near Magnolia and Lincoln avenues, where Anaheim police officers tried to pull the suspect over. The suspect did not comply. Instead, he fled officers on the southbound 5 Freeway in Anaheim, then through Santa Ana.

The 80-mile chase came to an end after police successfully deployed a spike strip near Del Mar Heights Road in San Diego County on the southbound 5 Freeway, which was temporarily shut down as the suspect ditched his vehicle and tried to make a run for it down an embankment.

Officers sent a K-9 after the suspect, who quickly surrendered and was taken into custody. The Anaheim Police Department and the California Highway Patrol were both involved in the investigation.

Police said the suspect was wanted in connection to a gang-related shooting on Christmas Eve. The victim in that shooting died at a hospital Monday morning.

Anaheim police's gang detectives searched an apartment near where the chase began.

Investigators said the suspect did not strike any other cars during the lengthy pursuit.