By Brian Hews
A police chase that dramatically traveled through Cerritos on Thursday night has resulted in the death of the suspect after a standoff with law enforcement for several hours on a residential street several miles away in Paramount.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives were continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deputy-involved shooting, which took place on the 7400 block of Jackson Street.
On Thursday, October 31, 2013, minutes before 11:00 P.M., a deputy assigned to Lakewood Sheriff’s Station conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle for a traffic violation. As the lone deputy approached the vehicle, the suspect, who was the driver, pointed a handgun at the deputy and sped away. The deputy broadcast the incident and vehicle information to other deputies via radio.
A short time later, a deputy assigned to Cerritos Sheriff’s Station located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop near the corner of Artesia Boulevard and Bloomfield Avenue.
According to a spokesperson of the LA County Sheriff’s, the suspect vehicle refused to yield and a pursuit ensued, traveling through numerous cities, by street and highway, assisted by California Highway Patrol personnel.
“During the pursuit, the suspect vehicle entered and exited the highway, and stopped and restarted driving several times. At one of the stops, the driver allowed three passengers to exit the vehicle, then fled again,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Deputies deployed spike strips, disabled the vehicle and contained it. The suspect refused to comply with deputies’ orders to exit the vehicle, thus becoming barricaded inside.
Special Enforcement Bureau and Crisis Negotiation Team members responded and established communication with the suspect. After much discussion, the suspect eventually exited the vehicle, pointed his handgun at a deputy and a deputy involved shooting occurred.
Several television news stations in Southern California aired the pursuit for more than two hours on Thursday night and into Friday morning.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The name of the suspect has not been released by law enforcement officials.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
