Suspects in Irvine Burglary Seized in Tijuana After Chase

Two burglary suspects in a stolen car led police on a two-county, 85-mile freeway chase Wednesday that started in Irvine and ended with gunfire in Tijuana, where Mexican police captured the two uninjured Americans.

The wild ride, which at times hit 100 m.p.h., began about 11:30 a.m., when an Irvine woman saw two strange men enter her neighbor’s home on Stone Pine Drive. Adding to her suspicion was the white 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit the two had parked out front. The car, which belonged to her neighbor, had been stolen Monday.

The woman called police.

Irvine officers caught up with the two men on Jeffrey Road near the Santa Ana Freeway. Then the chase began in earnest. With police in pursuit, the men tried to flee north on the freeway. Five miles north, at the Costa Mesa Freeway interchange, the white Rabbit turned around and headed south on the Santa Ana Freeway, according to Irvine Police Lt. Mike White.

Irvine police, joined by an Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, chased the two suspects to San Juan Capistrano.

The California Highway Patrol took over near Crown Valley Parkway. All the while, the men in the car, veering in and out of traffic, refused repeated calls from police to stop.

When the chase reached San Diego County, a new set of CHP officers and a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department helicopter took over at Las Pulgas Road, CHP Lt. Jim Anderson said.

Authorities trailed the Rabbit for more than an hour through San Diego County. At one point, television news crews pulled up alongside the car and filmed the pair as they sped down the freeway.

When it became clear that the two men were heading for the border, CHP officials radioed ahead, warning Mexican customs officials of the approaching vehicle.

Traffic lanes at the border crossing were heavily congested at the time, with several cars in line waiting to cross. But, in full view of news photographers, the car careened between the lanes and sped through the border crossing. Mexican police fired at least one shot at the car, which did not stop.

For 20 minutes, Mexican police scoured Tijuana before finding the car, abandoned, in a parking lot with a flat tire. Suspects Edward Kennedy, 25, of Anaheim and Joseph Brett, 26, of Florida were arrested moments later, authorities said.

In the car, Mexican police found silverware, which they believe was stolen. At the Tijuana jail, one of the two men was briefly interviewed by San Diego television station KNSD (Channel 39). He told the reporter he and his friend knew nothing about the chase and claimed that they had bought the white Rabbit in Tijuana 10 minutes before their arrest.

Kennedy and Brett later were turned over to Irvine police, according to San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson. The two were being held on suspicion of burglary, auto theft, reckless driving and failure to yield to police.

Asked why police let the chase continue for so long, Irvine Police Sgt. Jeffery Kermode said that forcing a vehicle off the road during a chase is prohibited because of the potential for injuries to both the officers and the people being pursued.

In addition, Kermode said it’s very dangerous for police to pull alongside a fleeing vehicle because the officers might get shot.