A man confessed on Monday in connection with a nearly two-hour police chase from downtown Los Angeles to Orange County that ended when officers repeatedly rammed the car, leaving the driver nowhere on a Lakewood street.
Luis Silvas, 33, was charged last week with stealing a car, assaulting a peace officer and escaping from a peace officer who was persecuting him. He pleaded not guilty on three counts on Monday.
Superior Court Judge Victoria B. Wilson denied the defense’s motion to release Silvas at its sole discretion. The judge ordered the defendant to stay behind bars in lieu of $ 150,000 bail while waiting for a hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Dec. 10 to see if there was sufficient evidence to enable the trial against him.
Silva was arrested by police on November 19 following the persecution and stalemate.
The chase began around 12:45 p.m. that day when Los Angeles police officers tried to stop the car that LAPD said had been reported stolen in Downey, near Hill and 25th Street. Refusing to give in, the driver drove south on the Santa Ana (5) Freeway and led officers on an unpredictable chase that sometimes resulted in the wrong side of the road on both the freeway and the streets.
Officers attempted multiple PIT maneuvers and deployed at least one strip of barbs on a road before the chase ended in a stalemate in Lakewood. Authorities fired non-fatal shots into the car and smashed a rear window during the stalemate.
The driver eventually got out of the car, got trapped by patrol SUVs, and surrendered around 3:30 p.m.
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