Man Sentenced to 13 Years for Pursuit, Carjacking
A North Long Beach man who led police on a two-hour televised car chase in February was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday in Norwalk Superior Court, the district attorney’s office reported.
Television news helicopters tracked Pete Petelo Tauveve Jr. on Feb. 10 as he crashed one pickup truck, blew a tire, jumped into a passing minivan, threw out the driver, crashed into a freeway divider and tried to flee on foot across the Golden State Freeway.
Judge Michael A. Cowell sentenced Tauveve, 27, who pleaded no contest last month to carjacking, robbery, evading arrest and assault with a deadly weapon (the vehicles he used during the chase), district attorney’s office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.
The pursuit began on the Riverside Freeway in La Palma just before rush hour, and continued north through Long Beach and Paramount. Traffic was snarled for hours and streets and freeways were closed, Gibbons said.
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