The driver of a reportedly stolen Mercedes-Benz was taken into custody Thursday night after leading California Highway Patrol on a meandering, slow-speed chase across South Los Angeles.
For much of the nearly 40-minute journey, the driver appeared to stop at red lights and obey traffic laws, Sgt. Christian Stevens of the California Highway Patrol said. But the driver did not comply with officers’ requests to get out of the vehicle.
The pursuit began a few minutes before 10 p.m., after deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department got word that a white Mercedes-Benz SUV had been stolen in the Lakewood area on the westbound 91 from Long Beach.
After L.A. County sheriffs requested assistance from the California Highway Patrol, the driver led a fleet of law enforcement vehicles on a 40-minute journey of South L.A.’s surface streets and highways. He refused to pull over, even after at least one rear tire was punctured by a spike strip.
“The chase went all throughout Los Angeles,” Stevens said. “He made so many turns… We were notified at about 9:58 p.m., and we got the driver into custody at 10:36 p.m.”
The suspect, identified by CHP as Luis Gutierrez, was charged with stealing a vehicle and attempting to evade the police.
About 15 minutes into the chase, as the driver drove northbound on Western, officers attempted to throw a spike strip in front of the vehicle’s tires to deflate them. But it was unsuccessful and he kept driving.
At 10:17 p.m., an officer threw another spike strip under the SUV, which successfully deflated at least one rear tire.
Not long after, video footage showed the vehicle swerving erratically between lanes.
Near the intersection of Western and Browning Boulevard, the driver pulled over. But after stepping outside of the vehicle, Stevens said, the driver did not comply with officers’ requests. Video showed him shouting, raising his arms and gesticulating wildly. He then got back into the car to continue northbound on Western, Stevens said, driving at a speed of just five to 10 miles an hour.
The driver then steered the SUV onto the eastbound 10 Freeway, Stevens said, at around 20 miles an hour.
Eventually, California Highway Patrol officers disabled the car by conducting a successful PIT maneuver just west of the 110 Freeway, near downtown Los Angeles.
After the Mercedes swung around and law enforcement vehicles surrounded it, the driver stepped out with his hands up — only to swiftly step back inside.
Video footage of the incident showed the officers approaching the vehicle. One smashed in the front passenger window while others approached the driver‘s side door and dragged him outside. After holding him down on the ground, they handcuffed him and took him into custody.
Gutierrez was booked at about 8 a.m. Friday morning at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown L.A., Stevens said.
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