High-speed pursuit from San Diego ends in standoff near LAX; person in custody
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Police in a high-speed chase through San Diego ended a manhunt on Sunday when he surrendered and was taken into custody, officials said.
The pursuit ended in a standoff with police about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Los Angeles International Airport where a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team surrounded a house and shot into it, officials said.
The man was taken into custody without incident after the standoff lasted about 30 minutes, Sgt. Enrique Garcia said during a news conference Sunday night.
Police had been looking for William Robert Spikes, 48, of San Diego. They had been informed that he was driving a silver Ford Explorer SUV, Garcia said.
Police told reporters that they had several reports of stolen vehicles in the area.
Spikes has been on the run since the chase began Jan. 3 in San Diego, Garcia said.
The chase began when police say Spikes crashed his gray 2011 Pontiac Sunfire in the parking lot of the San Diego County Fairgrounds.
After driving off, police say he returned to the parking lot, where he began driving the SUV but made poor decisions and led officers on a chase through the city.
He crashed the SUV and fled on foot when he came across a police officer and threatened to shoot him, Garcia said.
The officer fired his weapon at the man and he fell to the ground.
Spikes continued to head toward the airport, Garcia said. Officers shot him once more and he fled into a house where he surrendered, Garcia said.
The man “advised he had a gun and that he was going to kill himself, and he was taken into custody without incident,” Garcia said.
He was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.
The man had been identified as Spikes by authorities investigating the crash, but on Sunday, Garcia said, the man was identified as the suspect in the shooting at the fairgrounds.
Police did not immediately release the name of the officer who was wounded in the shooting. Garcia said he was treated and released. He has not been
