Suspected car thief falls from second-story window after police chase

A suspected car thief was hospitalized early Tuesday after he bailed from the car, tried to break into a second-story apartment in Pico-Union, was shot with a beanbag gun and fell out of a window, police said.

The chase began downtown at 8^th Street and Maple Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when LAPD officers tried to pull over a vehicle because it had paper license plates and might have been stolen, said Sgt. David Martinez.

Video of the chase showed paper covering only part of the car’s actual license plate.

The suspect led officers on a chase that went on the 60, 710 and 110 freeways and hit speeds as high as 120 mph, NBC4 reported.

“He was everywhere,” said LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado.

The chase ended in Pico-Union near Albany and Connecticut streets.

Four men who were inside the car ran, Preciado said. They tried to break into nearby homes but three were quickly caught, KTLA reported.

The fourth man fell from a second-story apartment window, Martinez said. Police also shot him with bean bags, officials said.

The man was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure and will later be booked for evading police and burglary, police said.

The three other men were arrested on suspicion of evading police. All four were believed to be between 20 and 30 years old.

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