Suspect Shot by Police After Chase Through Two Counties

A Los Angeles police officer shot the driver of a stolen car early Monday, police said, after a chase that began near Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, continued along freeways in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ended at a truck stop in Diamond Bar.

At the truck stop, the driver jumped out of his car and ran toward an embankment, and police Officer Teddy Gonzales followed, police said.

The officer told his superiors that the driver reached toward his waistband when he was near the embankment and turned toward officers following behind. Gonzales said he thought the suspect was holding a weapon.

Suspect Shot in Back

Gonzales, who has been on the police force for two years, then fired one shot from his weapon, hitting the suspect in the back, Reid said. The suspect tried again to escape but was captured, police spokeswoman Margie Reid said.

The driver, Jose Martinez, 28, was in critical but stable condition at Brea Community Hospital, said Lt. William Hall of the Los Angeles Police Department. Hall said no weapon was found.

Police said they expected to book Martinez on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon upon a police officer after they transfer him to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center’s jail ward.

Stopped Near Dodger Stadium

The chase began, Reid said, after Gonzales had stopped a car driven by Martinez at 2:15 a.m. for a traffic violation in Los Angeles’ Glassell Park district, north of Dodger Stadium.

When Gonzales approached the passenger side of the car, which had been reported stolen Sunday in San Diego, the driver allegedly swerved the car in the officer’s direction and sped toward him, she said. Gonzales jumped clear of the vehicle, got back in his patrol car and pursued Martinez.

Martinez then led the police on a chase that included sections of the Pomona and Orange freeways. He headed east on the Pomona and then south on the Orange Freeway, reaching speeds of 110 m.p.h., Reid said.