A suspect who was believed to have robbed someone while using a knife as a weapon was found in a 7-Eleven bathroom and transported to the hospital Wednesday.
At approximately 2 p.m., Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel were treating a man on the 28000 block of Timothy Drive in Saugus for medical reasons when he allegedly turned combative, according to Lt. Leo Bauer of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
After turning on first responders trying to help him, he then reportedly fled the scene on foot. While sheriff’s deputies were beginning to respond to the incident, residents reported him as a possible burglar with a weapon, Bauer said.
Deputies had the neighborhood around Timothy and Rodgers drives on lockdown, patrolling the streets and searching the area.
“He was running through the front yards after my neighbor and I saw him standing near our backgate,” said one resident on the 20500 block of Caitlin Lane. “He was trying to wash himself off with one of our neighbor’s hoses.”
When a description of the suspect was sent out, deputies believed they had the suspect in custody, but later concluded the man they had taken into custody near Caitlin Lane was not their perpetrator, according to witnesses on the scene.
However, at approximately 3:30 p.m., deputies received notification that a suspect who they believe was the exact man they were looking for was spotted still in the area and hiding in a nearby convenience store bathroom on the 28300 block of Whites Canyon, according to Fire Department Inspector Scott Elliot.
“Engine 128 (was on the scene) … and the patient was transported to a local area hospital,” said Elliot.
However, before the man was taken to the hospital for treatment of unknown injuries, he was removed from a sheriff’s vehicle and walked around the parking lot for a field identification — meaning the robbery victim was in a nearby vehicle, according to witnesses on the scene.
“(He) hasn’t been brought back yet to the station for booking,” Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, said at approximately 5 p.m. Wednesday.
As of Wednesday evening, investigators had not released the suspect’s identity or indicated what charges he might face, or if there were any additional suspects being sought.
