Man Leads Police On High-Speed Chase Into Pomona With Girlfriend's 2 Kids In Car
POMONA (CBSLA) – Two young children are safe after their mother's boyfriend took them on a wild 90-minute pursuit from South Los Angeles to Pomona overnight Friday.
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Dylan Lassiter, was arrested at gunpoint on the 10 Freeway near Kellogg Drive in Pomona just before 2 a.m. following a chase that traversed about 70 miles, California Highway Patrol said.
The children were unhurt and were safely returned to their mother, CHP confirmed.
According to Pomona police, the incident began before 12:30 a.m. Saturday when Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responded to a suspected kidnapping of two children in East Los Angeles. The deputies located the suspect's vehicle with the two children inside, and as they were approaching it, the suspect rammed into their patrol car and sped away, prompting a chase.
California Highway Patrol and Pomona police eventually took over the high-speed pursuit and the suspect made his way onto the eastbound 10 Freeway.
CBS2's Joy Benedict reported police chased the suspect for almost two hours. He often exceeded 100 mph.
Because of the presence of the children, officers were forced to take a more cautious approach and follow Lassiter at a distance, CHP said.
At one point, he reached the site of an accident, did a U-turn and began driving the wrong way on the 10 Freeway, Benedict reported.
He then rammed into two CHP cruisers which had formed a sort of road block to try and stop him. His car eventually became disabled and the chase came to an end at 1:49 a.m. near Kellogg Drive.
Surrounded by officers with guns drawn, Lassiter laid down on the ground and was arrested. He faces felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
He was booked into the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles and is being held on $100,000 bail, according to sheriff's jail records.
The two children were reunited with their mother.