SANTA ANA : 2 Burglary Suspects Caught After Chase

Two Santa Ana men whose car is believed linked to a flurry of burglaries countywide were arrested Sunday night after twice ramming a police cruiser during a brief chase, police said.

Irvine police captured the men in Santa Ana after a patrol officer noticed that their red 1985 Ford Mustang fit the description of a getaway car seen leaving 13 store burglaries since July, Sgt. Dick Bowman said.

He said the suspects fled when the officer tried to pull the car over shortly before 7 p.m. near Deere and Red Hill avenues in Irvine.

During a short chase on the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway, the suspects’ car spun around and rammed one of the two pursuing cruisers, Bowman said.

The chase ended minutes later when the suspects’ car again rammed the cruiser, then stalled near Santa Fe and 2nd streets in Santa Ana, police said. The passenger, Vincent Tapia, 19, ran but was caught, Bowman said. The driver, Keith Patrick O’Brien, 24, was arrested without incident.

O’Brien was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, felony evading arrest, conspiracy and commercial burglary. He was held on $50,000 bail in Orange County Jail, Lt. Sam Allevato said. Tapia, who was booked on suspicion of commercial burglary, conspiracy and resisting arrest, was held on $10,000 bail.

Investigators were seeking to find out Monday if the two men are connected to a wave of commercial burglaries in Irvine, Fountain Valley, Fullerton and Yorba Linda since July 22.