Suspect’s Jag Leads a 45-Minute Chase

A bank-robbery suspect in a white Jaguar led police on a chase through Orange and Los Angeles counties Tuesday before surrendering in Montebello.

Investigators said the chase began about 4 p.m. after a man walked into the Washington Mutual Bank at 24268 El Toro Road in Laguna Woods and handed the teller a note demanding money.

Though the note indicated that the man had a gun, Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept., said no weapon was seen. The robber left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, got into an older-model white Jaguar and drove away.

A short time later, Newport Beach police officers spotted the getaway Jag northbound on the San Diego Freeway near Harbor Boulevard and began to pursue. Amormino said the car, moving erratically at speeds up to 85 mph, led police on a 45-minute chase to Long Beach, then north on the Long Beach Freeway and east on the Santa Ana Freeway to Calzona Street in Montebello.

The driver suddenly pulled into a parking lot near Whittier Boulevard and surrendered, officials said.

“As the units pulled up behind him, he got out, put his hands up and got down on his knees,” said Mark Reeves, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, whose officers made the arrest. “He cooperated when the officer put handcuffs on him.”

The suspect was identified as Bradford Adam Pinkham, 36, of Long Beach. Amormino said he was being questioned Tuesday night and will probably be charged with bank robbery and evading officers.

Officers reported finding money in the Jaguar, Amormino said.