Law enforcement personnel arrested a man connected to a suspected vehicle theft who then fled the car on foot and crossed the freeway Tuesday morning.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol said they spotted the suspect at approximately 10:30 a.m. on foot on Interstate 5, north of Templin Highway and just south of Vista Del Lago, according to Officer Josh Greengard, spokesman for the CHP Newhall-Area Office.
“We attempted to try to stop (the suspect), and he ran across the freeway lanes,” said Greengard.
The suspect had been connected to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department pursuit from earlier, at around 10 a.m., and had been able to evade a traffic stop, Greengard said. Sheriff’s officials later reported that a deputy in Gorman had seen the allegedly stolen vehicle driving in the same area.
A containment zone was set up for the area, with the two outside lanes of the I-5 south being closed to give law enforcement space to conduct their search.
An LASD helicopter was assisting with the search, while a CHP helicopter had been called off.
At about noon Tuesday, deputies on the scene announced they had taken one suspect into custody, according to Deputy Natalie Arriaga, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
The suspect was reportedly found in a muddy trench and gave himself up to law enforcement officials, Arriaga said. While searching the man, deputies reportedly found documentation saying he had been arrested approximately three days prior on suspicion of stealing a vehicle, she added.
He was transported to the SCV Sheriff’s Station and booked again on suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, and the investigation remained ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon, Arriaga said.
