Two men arrested in Burbank after 20 minute police chase

Two Sylmar men were arrested Wednesday after allegedly jumping out of a moving car and evading Burbank police for 20 minutes, officials said.

The men, Enrique Flores, 26, and Joseph Watts, 27, were driving south on Lake Street at about 10:30 a.m. when they signaled for a patrol officer who had pulled up behind them to drive around at a stop sign, Burbank Police Officer Cindy Guillen said.

The men, who were in a white Mercury Sable, turned on Elmwood Avenue, but at a dead end, police said they jumped out of the car and fled into a nearby wash. The car crashed into a parked Jeep.

Police established a perimeter and a helicopter tracked the men from the air while the patrol officer ran after them, Guillen said.

“We never lost sight of them,” she said.

The men were eventually arrested 20 minutes later on suspicion of grand theft auto after police discovered the car had allegedly been stolen from Granada Hills. Despite initial reports that one of the men had a gun tucked into his waistband, no weapon was found.

Flores was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, Guillen added.

-- Maria Hsin, Times Community News

Twitter: @mariahsin