9 Held After Chase by Border Patrol
Nine suspected illegal immigrants were taken into custody Monday after the driver of a van failed to stop at the Border Patrol checkpoint and led officials on a short chase, authorities said.
The 26-year-old driver, whose name was not released, raced through the San Clemente checkpoint about 9:20 a.m. and led Border Patrol and California Highway Patrol units on an 8-mile chase, said supervising Border Patrol agent Ron Henley.
The driver then stopped the van at a highway median near the Ortega Highway exit and all nine people ran across the freeway. With the help of a CHP helicopter, authorities found the suspects in a backyard in a housing development in San Juan Capistrano.
The passengers volunteered to return to Mexico, but the driver is awaiting deportation, Henley said.
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