Police Pursuits

A North Hollywood woman driving a stolen truck who fled from a motorcycle officer Wednesday after she was stopped for running a stop sign caused a three-car crash that critically injured a FEMA claims adjuster, authorities said. Anna Marie Hernandez, 27, who is known to police under half a dozen aliases, was booked on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, Los Angeles Police Detective Jim Mann said.

It was after 1 a.m. Wednesday when an Orange County sheriff's deputy first spotted someone driving recklessly down Del Obispo Street. The deputy figured the driver was drunk, and after he failed to yield, a pursuit through San Juan Capistrano began. As the car headed about four miles southwest into Dana Point, another deputy joined the pursuit, chasing the Chevy Aveo until it crashed into a tree in the center median of Dana Point Harbor Drive. The driver managed to bail from the car and run toward the water, just as the Aveo went up in flames.

A former gang member who won a $15 million judgment after he was shot and framed by corrupt Los Angeles police officers more than a decade ago was arrested Sunday night after leading Glendale police on a high-speed chase, his second arrest in a week, authorities said. Javier Francisco Ovando, 31, was arrested about 8:15 p.m. Sunday after leading police on an hour-long chase that reached speeds of up to 90 mph on local streets and freeways, said Sgt. Tom Lorenz of the Glendale Police Department.

Even in the land of police chases, it was a wild ride. A pair of bank robbery suspects Wednesday led cops on a bizarre, dangerous pursuit, hurling fistfuls of stolen cash from their car in a failed getaway bid that sent hundreds of people scrambling into the path of oncoming police cars as they lunged after the flying bills. Although it was almost certainly a self-serving gambit meant to slow their pursuers, the robbery suspects' decision to share the loot in such brazen fashion made them instant heroes to many in the impoverished South L.A. neighborhoods where the chase came to an end. PHOTOS: Bank robbery suspects toss money "It's our neighborhood stimulus package!"

Once again we read about a traffic fatality involving a "police pursuit" (Oct. 15). Why don't you call it what it really is--evading arrest or vehicular manslaughter. Place the blame where it belongs: on the violator in the fleeing car. Characterizations such as "police pursuit" indicate that it is the fault of the police that the followed car is violating numerous traffic regulations. The fault belongs only to the driver attempting to evade the police. The brake pedal is there. All he has to do is use it. KEN SOBEL Encino

It seems that law enforcement officials have their priorities mixed up. The apprehension of the suspect comes first and public safety is second. Is not the violation of public safety the reason why a suspect is being pursued? RAMON MANJARREZ Valinda

Re "Dangerous Pursuits," Letters, May 28: The letter writer from Irvine opposing police chases failed to offer a suitable alternative to this necessary practice. My only criticism of the police is their reluctance to take aggressive action to terminate the pursuit promptly. Their willingness to chase the vehicle for miles through several counties puts many motorists and citizens at risk. However, if accidents occur, the blame clearly belongs to the fleeing lawbreaker. We must realize that we all assume an element of risk to live in a society where the criminal element is apprehended and punished.

Our readers wrote letters throughout 1989 expressing their viewpoints on a variety of issues. Here are condensed versions of some of those letters. We appreciate their taking the time to share their viewpoints and look forward to hearing from more of them in 1990. We were very saddened to read about the tragic deaths of Jessica Warren and Dawn Hammond, victims of the police pursuit on Christmas morning. We were saddened not only because we know of the sorrow of the family and friends but also because the circumstances might have been prevented had a jury voted to find the Costa Mesa police guilty in their pursuit of Ruben Valle on Dec. 12, 1984.

It was shortly after midnight, 20 years ago Thursday, when George Holliday awoke to the sounds of police sirens outside his Lake View Terrace apartment. Grabbing his clunky Sony Handycam, he stepped out on his balcony and changed the Los Angeles Police Department forever. The nine minutes of grainy video footage he captured of Los Angeles police beating Rodney King helped to spur dramatic reforms in a department that many felt operated with impunity. The video played a central role in the criminal trial of four officers, whose not-guilty verdicts in 1992 triggered days of rioting in Los Angeles in which more than 50 people died.

The Burbank Police Department and Los Angeles County district attorney's office launched investigations Tuesday into the actions of officers who tried to stop a high-speed pursuit by firing at the suspect while he was stopped in rush-hour traffic. Officials said they are looking at the tactics used Monday afternoon by the Burbank officers, who fired at the suspect on two occasions during the wild chase. Of biggest concern is one officer's decision to fire into the suspect's stolen sport utility vehicle while he was in the middle of traffic on Barham Boulevard near the 101 Freeway.

Troubled by an increase in police shootings last year, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Wednesday ordered deputies to be more cautious -- and call for backup -- when pursuing armed suspects. "In policing cultures around the nation, there is a tendency for us to put ourselves in harm's way right away," Baca said at a news conference at Sheriff's Department headquarters in Monterey Park. "You don't have to go barreling in on every case and then find yourself in a position where you have no choice but to use your gun."

Two men suspected of robbing a street vendor selling Valentine's Day gift baskets died Sunday morning when their car crashed into a parked vehicle during a brief police pursuit south of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said. The incident began about 4:30 a.m., when two men allegedly stole merchandise from a vendor set up at San Pedro Street and Adams Boulevard. Officers responded to a 911 call, and the suspects' Nissan sped away, soon crashing near Central Avenue and 27th Street.

A man who allegedly hurled firebombs at five targets in San Diego, including two police stations and a middle school, has been arrested after a high-speed chase that ended in Riverside County. Edward Batties, 26, of San Diego was arrested about 5:30 a.m. Sunday in Temecula and jailed for investigation of arson, evading a police officer, two counts of burglary and two counts of possession of a destructive device, authorities said. The incidents began Friday evening when someone tossed a Molotov cocktail into the fenced yard at the San Diego Police Department's Mid-City station, where it rolled under a car but failed to ignite, said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

The Americana at Brand was locked down for several hours Monday when an armed robbery suspect ran into the Glendale shopping center after leading police on a car chase and then a chaotic foot pursuit. The suspect was later found hiding in the stairwell of a parking garage at the center, and customers were allowed back into the mall, police said. The man was one of three suspects who allegedly robbed a liquor store shortly before 11 a.m. in the 2000 block of Glenoaks Avenue in Burbank.

The three drivers moved through traffic toward the U.S. border crossing, their vans packed with about 70 immigrants who stayed hushed as canine units patrolled outside. Mauricio Cantera, a 59-year-old grandfather who sells churros to crossers, said the vans probably passed inches from his tray of sweets Tuesday afternoon, but he didn't notice anything amiss. Having worked the crossing for decades, he said smuggling runs through the San Ysidro Port of Entry are common. What happened next, however, wasn't.

Ryan Alexander Jenkins, wanted in the slaying of swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, led authorities on a high-speed boat chase on the U.S.-Canada border Wednesday night, law enforcement sources told The Times. Authorities tracked Jenkins to a marina in Blaine, Wash., and came upon his car and empty boat trailer, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation. The engine of the car was still warm and the U.S. Coast Guard was alerted. A Coast Guard cutter came upon a speed boat several miles off the coast that was believed to belong to Jenkins.