San Rafael Police Chase, Arrest Armed Suspect
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- An armed man was chased and arrested in downtown San Rafael early Sunday morning, police said.
Officers responded to a report of a man driving a silver Buick and brandishing a handgun about 12:45 a.m., according to the San Rafael Police Department.
Police located the suspect - later identified as 20-year-old Derrell Bland - near Fifth Street and initiated a pursuit.
Trying to evade police, Bland allegedly sideswiped a car parked on Cijos Street and crashed into a tree on Lootens Place, police said.
Following a brief pursuit on foot, Bland was taken into custody, police said. A loaded revolver was found in a discarded coat near the suspect's Buick.
About 200 people attending a dance party in a Masonic hall on Lootens Place came outside and began yelling at the officers attempting to take Bland into custody, police said.
Deputies from the Marin County Sheriff's Department and a K-9 unit from Novato police responded to help disperse the crowd.
Bland was booked at Marin County Jail for carrying a loaded handgun, brandishing a firearm, evading police, hit and run and violation of probation.
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