SIMI VALLEY : Transient Jailed After Car, Foot Chase
A 28-year-old homeless man remained jailed Wednesday after leading police on a chase by car and foot that ended when he was found hiding under heavy brush in the Simi Valley foothills, authorities said.
Maurice Lucien Van Wyk was originally wanted for failing to appear in court on two felony charges of driving under the influence.
Simi Valley police received a tip that Van Wyk would be meeting a friend in the parking lot of the Radisson Hotel at 11 p.m. Tuesday. When Van Wyk left the parking lot in his Jeep, he refused to stop for police and instead sped west onto California 118.
Three patrol cars pursued Van Wyk to the Madera Road exit, passing the Bugle Boy Industries building to a dead end on American Street, where the Jeep slammed into the wooden barrier marking the street’s end.
Van Wyk then fled on foot into the hills. Two canine units, a helicopter and dozens of police officers searched the hills for about 2 1/2 hours before finding Van Wyk.
He remained jailed in lieu of $56,000 for resisting arrest, driving on a suspended license and the two warrants.
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