Man Suspected of Exposing Self to Children Arrested After Chase

A paroled sex offender suspected of exposing himself to children at preschools and elementary schools in the Westside and South Bay led police on a freeway chase Monday at speeds up to 100 mph before a crash that ended with his arrest in Pasadena, investigators said.

Randall Lee Wickham, 44, apparently attempted suicide by slashing his wrist during the televised pursuit down the 405, 91 and 110 freeways, Long Beach Police Officer Maria Mendez said.

Wickham was treated for his injuries at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena before he was transferred to the police jail at Long Beach, where he was booked on suspicion of parole violations, indecent exposure and felonious evasion of arrest.

Officials said Wickham had been paroled earlier this year after serving a prison term for indecent exposure. Police had been seeking him since Oct. 15, when a warrant was issued for his arrest after he allegedly failed to report to his parole officer.

That same day, a man police believe was Wickham was seen masturbating in his car at an elementary school in Redondo Beach. A few minutes later, a man matching his description fled from the parking lot of a nearby preschool when staff members approached him. They said the man was not wearing pants.

On Oct. 16, a second arrest warrant was issued for Wickham after an incident at an elementary school in Santa Monica. Police said a man believed to be Wickham exposed himself to five female students.

Long Beach police said that last weekend, a car rental agency in Long Beach complained that Wickham had failed to return one of its cars--a 1997 Geo Metro. On Sunday, a man in a car matching the description of the missing vehicle exposed himself to children in three Long Beach neighborhoods.

Mendez said that at 11:20 a.m. Monday, a Long Beach police officer spotted the Geo at 7th and Studebaker streets.

“When the officer tried to pull the car over, it took off, running red lights as it headed north,” she said.

Mendez said a second Long Beach police car and two California Highway Patrol cars joined the chase as the Geo got on the 405 Freeway and headed south, toward the junction with the 605 Freeway. Weaving in and out of traffic at speeds up to 100 mph, the little car sped north on the 605 to the 91 Freeway, west on the 91 to the 110 Freeway, and north on the 110--through downtown Los Angeles--to Pasadena.

Returning to surface streets, the Geo headed north on Arroyo Parkway, running several red lights before slamming broadside into a sedan at Union Street. As Wickham emerged from the vehicle, police pushed him face-down onto the pavement and handcuffed him. A bloodstain--most of it apparently from a self-inflicted slash on his left wrist--marked the spot on the pavement where he lay.

Given emergency treatment at the scene, Wickham was transported to the nearby hospital, where officials said his injuries were not life-threatening. The woman driving the sedan was not injured, police said.