Suspect’s Cell Calls Bring Pals Into Chase

Two hallmarks of Southern California freeway culture--the mobile phone and the high-speed police chase--linked up as a man suspected of robbing a Seal Beach credit union nearly two years ago dialed reinforcements in an effort to evade capture, police said.

Trayveon Choyce allegedly telephoned his girlfriend and another accomplice Wednesday night, encouraging them to use their cars to block pursuing police vehicles or ram into them during an hourlong chase.

By the time Choyce was arrested in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles, his girlfriend had suffered a broken arm after plowing into at least two vehicles and Choyce had bashed into numerous motorists before abandoning his pickup, police said.

The second accomplice, who weaved in front of several pursuing police cars to slow them down, escaped.

The pursuit stems from a Sept. 9, 1999, robbery of the Rockwell Federal Credit Union, in which five men marched tellers into a vault at gunpoint.

Three of the men were arrested after a lengthy police chase, and authorities said Choyce was one of the remaining suspects.

The last man remains at large.

On Tuesday, Seal Beach police and the FBI staked out Choyce’s Lakewood apartment after an informant fingered the unemployed 28-year-old in the robbery.

Authorities attempted to arrest Choyce on Wednesday evening after he climbed into his Ford F-350 and began to drive off.

Police said Choyce refused to pull over for them, however, and headed north on the San Gabriel River Freeway.

Pursued by Seal Beach police, the FBI, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angles County Sheriff’s Department and other local agencies, Choyce allegedly kept the cell phone glued to his ear as he bumped into and weaved between cars on three freeways, police said.

“He was continually on that cell phone,” Seal Beach Police Sgt. Michael Vasquez said. “We could see him through the rear window and he had the phone to his ear the whole time.”

It was when Choyce drove onto Crenshaw Boulevard, though, that police said his friends showed up and the pursuit turned into a demolition derby.

Police said Choyce’s girlfriend, who identified herself as Erica Arnold, 21, drove along the right shoulder of the boulevard, avoiding a line of stopped vehicles, then veered left and struck a Seal Beach cruiser, setting it spinning.

As Choyce allegedly crossed the median strip and began traveling south on Crenshaw, Arnold rammed her car into a sheriff’s cruiser, then aimed her car at another but missed, police said.

At this point, Choyce and Arnold sped off in opposite directions and police scrambled to keep pace.

Choyce was captured at Crenshaw Boulevard and 43rd Street, when he jumped out of his truck and tried to run.

Arnold was arrested on Slauson Avenue after she reportedly struck a parked car.

At a court hearing in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, Choyce delayed his arraignment on the bank robbery charge until later this month.

Charges are pending in connection with the chase.

Choyce’s sister, Helecia Choyce, attended the hearing and insisted her brother is innocent.

Arnold was booked on accusations of attempted murder on a police officer and assault with a deadly weapon.

Said Vasquez: “This is a first for me. I’ve been doing this 33 years and nobody’s ever called their friends during a chase.”