Driver Runs, Fires Shots at End of 4-Freeway Police Pursuit : Crime: The suspect calmly spoke to officers on a car phone during the chase, which reached speeds of 80 m.p.h.
ANAHEIM — A man who chatted on a cellular phone with police Tuesday as he led them on a high-speed chase over four freeways later jumped from the moving Mercedes, broke into a home and fired at officers as two stunned residents watched.
Police, who were not hit, used pepper spray and tackled the man, identified as Devon Michael Loren, 26.
The chase began about 2 p.m. at Tustin Acura, after the sales staff notified police that a man and woman were trying to buy a Cadillac using stolen drivers’ licenses and other stolen documents, Tustin Lt. Houston Williams said.
When officers arrived, Loren fled alone in the 1992 Mercedes-Benz 190 the couple had arrived in, police said. He got on the Riverside Freeway with up to 12 police vehicles in close pursuit. Swerving through traffic as he drove 80 m.p.h. on the Riverside, Orange, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana freeways, Loren casually talked on a car phone with a police officer, his elbow out the window and drank a soda, officers and witnesses said.
“He was talking to our officer back at the Acura dealership,†Williams said. “Our officer said he should pull over and surrender and nothing would happen to him. He told our officer he needed to have a smoke and think about it and then hung up.â€
Loren got off the freeway in Anaheim and continued to drive at 80 m.p.h., Williams said.
“This is where we really got concerned,†Williams said.
The Mercedes struck a Highway Patrol car at State College Boulevard and La Palma Avenue, but continued on.
When Loren reached the corner of Philadelphia Street and Mills Drive, he jumped from the car while it was still moving and ran into a house, past two residents inside, police said.
Loren “reached into a black bag he was carrying and refused to remove his hand while fighting with officers,†Anaheim Sgt. Steve Rodig said, “then fired two shots from a handgun and was subdued.â€
Meanwhile, the driverless Mercedes jumped a curb and traveled 200 yards south down the sidewalk on Philadelphia before it crashed into a chain link fence.
One eyewitness, who would not give his name, said he looked out his window when he heard tires screeching and saw the car chugging down the sidewalk.
“I threw my shoes on and ran out the door, because I knew there were some kids playing up the street and I wanted to stop the car before it got to them,†the witness said. “But before I caught up with it, it crashed into the fence. It’s amazing that nobody was around and got hurt.â€
Loren, whose hometown was not known, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and was being held Tuesday in the Anaheim City Jail in lieu on $250,000 bail. His companion, Anita Beverly, 39, of Laguna Hills, was booked on suspicion of burglary, attempted grand theft and fraudulent application and was being held by Tustin police. Loren initially identified himself as Quincy Jones III, 23, of Los Angeles.
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