Man Sought by FBI Held After Valley Car Pursuit

A man being sought by federal agents led police on a winding pursuit through San Fernando Valley streets Monday before crashing through a storage yard gate and into a police car.

Richard Roland Alford was taken into custody at the end of the televised pursuit, which began after federal agents tried to arrest Alford about 5:45 p.m. on Moorpark Street near Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Studio City, according to FBI spokeswoman Cheryl Mimura.

Alford became the target of a manhunt after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix for possessing a false official identification card, impersonating a U.S. employee, fraud and related activity in connection with access devices, mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements, Mimura said.

“He never showed up for his hearing,” said Paul Welch, an assistant special agent in charge with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “We issued a warrant for his arrest.”

Welch added that shots were fired as federal agents tried to arrest Alford before the chase. He would not elaborate.

For almost an hour, a line of patrol cars followed as the black Jeep Cherokee wound through Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys, traversing alleys, parking lots, residential streets and a city sidewalk.

In one instance, Alford appeared to stop for a woman and child before speeding away down Van Nuys Boulevard. Later, he hit a metal shopping cart as the chase continued into an industrial area near Sepulveda and Magnolia boulevards.

The incident ended at a self-storage complex as Alford turned down a narrow alley and his car became trapped between police cars and a metal gate.