Two Bakersfield men face a number of criminal charges, including theft, child endangerment and resisting arrest, following a foot chase through streets near the Westfield Valencia Town Center on Wednesday. A third person, who was under the age of 18, was released to family, per sheriff’s officials.
The pair was arrested and a juvenile detained at the end of an hour-long pursuit, much of it carried out on foot, in triple-digit temperatures, by deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
The two adults were identified by arresting deputies as 26-year-old parolees who now face charges for allegedly having violated conditions of their parole.
The juvenile detained in the incident was released to a relative with no charges filed, according to Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, noting the juvenile was a passenger in the suspect’s SUV.
The incident began about 3 p.m., when deputies received word of “suspicious activity” at the mall parking lot, near Citrus Street.
“When units arrived to make contact, the suspects fled the scene, driving recklessly — ultimately crashing into a tree — and then taking off on foot,” Miller said.
“Initially, deputies went in foot pursuit of both adult suspects,” she said, noting one suspect was taken into custody “fairly quickly.”
The faster of the two suspects was pursued along Citrus Street, between the SCV Sheriff’s Station and the mall, then along Valencia Boulevard.
He was later found hiding under a parked car just down the street at the City of Hope building, by two deputies assigned to the Summer Enforcement Team, Miller said.
While the chase was unfolding, deputies set up containment in the area, bounded by City Hall on Valencia, Citrus Street and Magic Mountain Parkway.
The suspect identified as the unemployed driver of the crashed SUV, faces child endangerment charges “due to his reckless driving,” Miller said. He was also arrested on suspicion of evading a peace officer, resisting a peace officer and receiving stolen property with bail set at $25,000.
The other suspect, identified as a construction worker, is accused of receiving stolen property and resisting a peace officer, with bail set at $10,000.[email protected] 661-287-5527 On Twitter @jamesarthurholt
