UPDATE: CHP Arrest 2nd Suspect in Scotts Valley Highway 17 Chase and Shootout
SCOTTS VALLEY (CBS SF) -- CHP in Santa Cruz on Thursday confirmed the arrest of a second suspect who was involved in a Tuesday night Highway 17 pursuit where CHP officers were fired on, according to authorities.
The Santa Cruz California Highway Patrol office posted on Facebook about the arrest of the second suspect, identified as 41-year-old Berkeley resident Alexandria Luevanos. The post included a photo of Luevanos being taken into custody.
"We would like to thank the community member who recognized the suspect and reported her to law enforcement," the text of the post read.
Authorities did not say when Luevanos had been taken into custody, The other suspect in the incident -- the gunman who opened fire on a California Highway Patrol officer during a Highway 17 pursuit Tuesday evening --was arrested Wednesday morning after an intense search.
Authorities also identified that suspect as 40-year-old Lathrop resident Kristopher Payopay. He was charged with multiple felonies including attempted murder, assault with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a controlled substance while armed.
The incident began at about 9:51 p.m. Tuesday when Santa Cruz Area CHP officers on southbound 17 stopped to check on a black GMC Yukon that was stopped on the side of the road just north of Glenwood Drive. When officers tried to contact the occupants of the Yukon, the female driver started the vehicle and accelerated away, the CHP said.
Suspecting the driver was possibly under the influence, officers got back into their patrol vehicle and began pursuing the fleeing Yukon. The driver did not yield to the emergency lights and siren, and the vehicle exited Highway 17 at Scotts Valley Drive, heading into the city of Scotts Valley. Moments later a male passenger began shooting at the officers who then stopped the pursuit.
A short time later, the CHP received word the suspect vehicle had been found abandoned on Tabor Drive in Scotts Valley. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the area of Bethany Drive, Vine Hill School Road and Tabor Drive, according to the Scotts Valley Police Department. A CHP helicopter with night vision was overhead.
A staging area was set up at Scotts Valley High School and the neighbors were told to shelter in place. A search by Santa Cruz police officers Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol failed to locate either suspect.
The shelter-in-place order was eventually lifted at 4:08 a.m. Wednesday. About three hours later, the CHP received multiple calls about a pedestrian matching the male suspect's description walking along southbound Highway 17 near Laurel Road.
Officers located and arrested him after connecting him to the GMC Yukon, and a weapon was found during a search of the area, the CHP said.
Wednesday afternoon, the CHP identified the suspected Yukon driver who was being sought as Luevanos. She was last seen wearing a pink hooded jacket, is approximately 5-foot-7, 130 lbs. with red hair.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Santa Cruz Area CHP Office at 831-662-0511 or the dispatch non-emergency line at 831-796-2160.
