Motorcyclist Eludes CHP by Fleeing Into a Mall

A motorcyclist who led police on a hair-raising pursuit Tuesday that exceeded speeds of 130 mph gave authorities the slip -- at least temporarily -- by ditching his bike at a Glendale shopping mall and blending in with a sea of shoppers.

The chase, carried live by Los Angeles television stations, provided a novel ending to that common and uniquely Southern California phenomenon known as the live vehicle pursuit. Although the vast majority of televised chases end with the suspect being cornered and apprehended -- usually in his home neighborhood -- Tuesday’s was notable for the fact that the motorcyclist was not caught.

“I’m surprised,” said Fili Martinez, a 38-year-old Highland Park resident who was shopping at the Glendale Galleria when the suspect slipped into the crowd. “It seems like they use everyone on the police force to chase these guys. You watch this on TV, and it seems like there are 25 cars and 25 guys walking the streets.”

A California Highway Patrol spokesman acknowledged that most pursuits end with an arrest, but said that motorcycles were a different matter.

“Because of a motorcycle and how fast it travels, it’s possible for them to get away and blend in with the crowd,” said CHP Officer Armando Clemente. “They can almost outrun a helicopter.”

Neither the CHP nor Glendale police found the man at the mall, but they did recover his motorcycle, and officials now “have a pretty good indication” who the suspect is.

The 40-minute pursuit began at 5:30 p.m., when a CHP patrol officer spotted a man on a black 2003 Yamaha motorcycle with red painted flames speeding along the Antelope Valley Freeway, or California 14, near Golden Valley. When the biker refused to pull over, the cruiser gave chase, authorities said.

The pursuit snaked along three freeways before moving onto surface streets in Glendale. At times, the motorcyclist reached speeds of up to 140 mph. Because of the high speeds, Clemente said, the CHP quickly made the decision to pull back its cruiser and follow the suspect by helicopter.

Television news helicopters taped the motorcyclist as he weaved in and out of oncoming traffic and squeezed between gridlocked cars and trucks.

The chase ended when the motorcyclist pulled into a parking structure at the Glendale Galleria, jumped off his bike and pulled off his helmet, multicolored leather jacket and gloves.

Manuel Baldovinos, 15, of Montebello, said he and a group of friends had just parked their car at the mall when they heard the whine of a motorcycle engine. They said they watched the rider throw away his helmet and strip down to a white T-shirt and blue jeans. They said he began running away from the mall at first, then quickly changed direction and ran into the mall.

“When we saw him get off, he had a nervous look to him,” Baldovinos said. “He would walk, jog, walk, jog, so he would blend in.”

Few people noticed anything as the suspect headed for the entrance near the Red Robin restaurant and J.C. Penney.

Elsie Castellanos, a clerk who sells acne treatments at a kiosk near that entrance, said she didn’t see a thing.

“All that, for speeding?” Castellanos said. “They should have just said, oh well, we can’t catch him.”

Shopper Beth Anderson, a 21-year-old college student, said she wasn’t surprised the motorcyclist eluded police by entering a mall.

“That’s a good idea,” Anderson said. “There are tons of people.... He could have gone into any one of the restrooms or restaurants. There’s no way they could have found him, unless they closed the mall and searched every nook and cranny.”