Manhunt in Pico Results in Two Arrests

By Teresa Rochester

Jan. 25 -- A SWAT officer with a shotgun crouched behind a police car near the northeastern edge of Woodlawn Cemetery as a police helicopter circled in the early morning sky, searching for a man who had fired at officers and another who led police on a high speed chase.

Until well into the morning Friday, the streets around the cemetery were closed as Santa Monica police investigated the incident, which led to the arrests of two suspects.

The incident began at 11:50 p.m. Thursday when officers attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation. The driver sped off, quickly turning corners with the officers in pursuit, trying to run the license plate on their computer, Lt. Frank Fabrega said.

The driver, who has not been identified, pulled to a stop on the 2000 block of 20th Street. Officers "verbally engaged" the suspect, who got out of the car and fled. The man ran through a backyard and scaled a fence heading westbound.

Officers found a gun in the area near the foot chase and called for backup. A perimeter stretching from Pico Boulevard to Olympic Boulevard was set up and swat team members, police dogs and officers from neighboring Culver City and Beverly Hills searched for the man.

A second helicopter, flown by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, joined the Los Angeles Police Department helicopter already hovering above the scene.

Fifteen minutes after the chase began, officers posted at 18th Street and Delaware Avenue radioed that they believed they had been shot at. A resident also reported hearing shots fired, police said. Ten minutes later more shots rang out.

The gunman at some point struck a police car, Fabrega said.

Shortly after the gunfire ended, officers assigned to the perimeter near 16th Street and Michigan Avenue arrested the registered owner of the vehicle, which was abandoned on 20th Street.

Shell casings were discovered on the 1700 block of Delaware, police said. The second suspect was found and arrested on the 1800 block of 17th Street.