BREA : Suspects in Chase Run Out of Gas

Two teen-age burglary suspects were in custody Tuesday after a chase--involving four law enforcement jurisdictions on three freeways--ended when the two juveniles simply ran out of gas.

The suspects, a 17-year-old from Yorba Linda and a 16-year-old from Brea, were not identified because of their ages, Brea Police Sgt. Jon Strash said.

Authorities said the incident began just after midnight, when officers responded to a burglar alarm at D & D Automobile in the 700 block of Lambert Road.

At the business, officers found that car phones and other merchandise had been taken, Strash said.

About 15 minutes later, police noticed the suspects’ vehicle near Lambert Road and Palm Street.

In the pursuit that followed, a La Habra patrol unit crashed into a light pole at Palm Street and Imperial Highway in Fullerton, with the officers suffering minor injuries.

The chase continued eastbound through Brea at 90 m.p.h., onto the southbound Orange Freeway and then southbound on the Santa Ana Freeway to Culver Drive.

Encountering Caltrans work, the driver headed north on the Santa Ana Freeway, then north on the Orange Freeway to the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway.

During the chase, Brea police were assisted by units of the California Highway Patrol, La Habra Police Department and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, Strash said.

In Los Angeles County, the suspects left the San Bernardino Freeway and continued to flee on surface streets until they ran out of gas near Fairplex Drive in Pomona.

The two were arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, felony evasion and possession of stolen property and were returned to Brea.