Kidnapping suspect charged with 17 counts after pursuit that ended in Newport Beach

A man accused of kidnapping his estranged wife and their two sons Monday before leading police on a freeway chase and then escaping from a standoff in Newport Beach was charged Thursday, officials said.

Thomas Ueno, 35, faces 17 counts, including kidnapping for carjacking, false imprisonment by violence, false imprisonment of a hostage, violating a domestic-violence restraining order with a prior conviction, fleeing an officer while driving recklessly, injuring a spouse, first-degree burglary, possession of a firearm by a felon and carjacking, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Ueno’s arraignment was postponed Friday to March 23.

He could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Ueno was arrested about 7 p.m. Tuesday while walking in Cerritos, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Detectives from the Huntington Park Police Department eventually took custody of him.

Police say Ueno had fled from authorities Monday night after an hours-long standoff on Dover Drive in Newport Beach, following a freeway pursuit that started in Buena Park. A woman and two children ages 1 and 6, whom the district attorney’s office described as Ueno’s estranged wife and their sons, were with him in her Hummer SUV throughout the incident, authorities said.

The woman and children walked toward officers after the man ran up a hillside near Castaways Park.

As officers backtracked on the path where the driver fled, they found a replica handgun they believe he had in the vehicle with him, Huntington Park police said.

The California Highway Patrol said several factors contributed to the man evading police in Newport, including fog and darkness. Also, officers didn’t want to unleash a police dog with the woman and children present, the CHP said.