Suspected Car Thief Arrested After Chase

A suspected car thief who was chased by police from North Hills to the Mid-Wilshire district, then tried to hide in a tree, was arrested early Wednesday after an officer dislodged him using a shotgun-propelled beanbag, police said.

A police helicopter crew spotted Eugene Trionov, 21, of Hollywood in a backyard tree of a residence near Longwood Avenue and 9th Avenue at about 4:15 a.m., police said.

When Trionov refused to surrender, an officer shot him in the chest with a nonlethal beanbag fired from a special 12-gauge shotgun, police officials from the Van Nuys station said. He was then taken into custody after a brief struggle.

The incident began at 3:18 a.m. when a Datsun 280Z was reported stolen in the 8400 block of Wystone Avenue in Northridge, police said.

Minutes later, officers spotted the car on Roscoe Boulevard near the San Diego Freeway. Officers tried to pull the Datsun over near the freeway and Victory Boulevard but the driver refused to stop.

The Datsun sped from the San Diego Freeway to the eastbound U.S. 101 though downtown, onto the southbound Harbor Freeway and the westbound Santa Monica Freeway. The driver finally stopped in the Mid-Wilshire district at 4:15 a.m., police said.

Trionov was arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto, police said. He was then taken to a local hospital where he was treated for a bruised forehead.