San Diego burglary suspect tosses bag of jewelry onto Interstate 5 during pursuit, authorities say

A residential burglary suspect led officers on a 12-minute road chase from Del Mar Heights to Pacific Beach in San Diego on Friday, tossing a bag of loot onto Interstate 5 before pulling over and surrendering, police said.

A housekeeper who works at a home on Vantage Way near Recuerdo Drive discovered shortly before 10:30 a.m. that the residence had been ransacked, then saw a young man driving off in a car belonging to her employers, police said.

About seven minutes later, patrol officers spotted the stolen light-green Nissan sedan a few blocks from the home and tried to pull it over, Officer Tony Martinez said. The suspect refused to stop, instead driving off west and getting on nearby I-5.

While fleeing south, the driver of the Nissan managed to avoid a tire-flattening spike strip officers tossed onto the freeway in his path and tossed a sack of stolen jewelry out of the car, Martinez said.

He then exited onto Garnet Avenue and headed west, continuing for about a half-mile before pulling to a stop on Culver Street, just north of Grand Avenue. At that point, officers took him into custody.