Robbery suspect livestreams chase through Los Angeles as he flees with baby in car
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A robbery suspect emerged from a car holding his 2-month-old daughter after leading authorities on a dangerous, high-speed chase through Los Angeles Wednesday.
The incident started with an armed robbery in Beverly Hills. Hawthorne police later spotted the vehicle and a chase started around 5:40 p.m.
Click here to read ABC7's update on this developing story: Robbery suspect ID'd after livestreaming himself during wild chase through LA with baby in car
They headed into the South Los Angeles area as Hawthorne police asked for assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
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 caught two of the suspects.
But the third suspect got into another vehicle, a Kia sedan, and quickly took off, starting up another chase.
Deputies at the time believed he had carjacked that vehicle. They weren't aware until later that a woman and her infant daughter, about two months old, were also in the car.
The Kia driver fled recklessly over surface streets in the downtown Los Angeles 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 the Blair Hills neighborhood. 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 backseat holding the child in her arms.
The driver also came out and hugged the woman and child before she walked over to the deputies.
The suspect then complied with deputies' commands and was taken into custody without incident.
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.
Despite the relationship between the suspect and the woman, for now he is also facing carjacking and kidnapping charges in addition to armed robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the sheriff's department.
The woman was not arrested. Deputies provided food and medical attention to the baby girl, as well as changing her diaper. She 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."
