A serial leaf blower thief and his accomplice were arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase that caused two Huntington Beach schools to shelter in place Friday.
It began on Friday morning, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department, when officers responded to an 8:45 a.m. call of a leaf blower theft that had just happened.
Officers arrived in the area of Yorktown Avenue and Goldenwest Street, where the two suspects—one of whom is a convicted felon—had allegedly just stolen a leaf blower from a gardener’s truck.
The suspects fled by the time police got to the scene, but witnesses were able to provide a description of the suspect vehicle. About 30 minutes later, an officer found the car that the witnesses described and tried to pull them over, but the suspects drove off, initiating a pursuit.
“As the pursuit approached downtown, officers canceled it due to the suspect’s erratic driving,” the police department stated. “The vehicle was later found abandoned, but witnesses pointed officers in the suspects’ direction.”
Police did not say specifically where the car was found, but they noted that this was when the two schools sheltered in place for “safety reasons” while officers searched for the suspects. The two schools involved were Dwyer Middle School and Smith Elementary School.
After an undisclosed amount of time, officers found and arrested both suspects after setting up a containment. In addition, police found a loaded gun and the stolen leaf blower in their car.
Police identified the suspects as Clayton Lohman, 27, of Florida, and Kurstin Pulliam, 28, of Texas. The department noted that Lohman, the convicted felon, has an extensive criminal history, including “arrests in Florida related to leaf blower theft and an active warrant for narcotics in Texas.”
Lohman was ultimately booked for felon in possession of a firearm, felony evading, petty theft, conspiracy to commit a crime, delaying or obstructing an officer and possession of a loaded firearm in public. Pulliam was booked for conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing.
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