It's About Crime

A domestic violence suspect was shot by police after attempting to carjack a vehicle on a busy California interstate, according to body camera footage released by the Lathrop Police Department. The incident began on January 27, when officers responded to a 911 call reporting that Juan Miguel Valdez, 40, had allegedly threatened to kill a woman he had nearly killed the night before. The audio recording of the call revealed the severity of the threat and prompted an immediate police response. Upon arrival, officers encountered Valdez, who fled the scene in a vehicle, leading authorities on a high-speed pursuit from a residential neighborhood onto Interstate 5. During the chase, one of the tires on Valdez’s vehicle failed, forcing him to abandon it and attempt to hijack another car. Body camera footage shows Valdez clinging to the side of a moving vehicle, grasping the driver’s side door in a desperate effort to stop the car. As the vehicle slowed and pulled over to the shoulder, Valdez r...

A grand theft suspect died Friday morning after crashing into a dump truck during a high-speed police chase on the 210 Freeway in La Crescenta. The pursuit began shortly before 11 a.m. when Ventura County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an ongoing theft at a Target store in Camarillo. The suspect, driving a black hatchback, fled the scene, leading authorities on a dangerous pursuit that spanned the San Fernando Valley. According to officials, the suspect reached speeds exceeding 100 mph, weaving through surface streets and freeways before heading eastbound on the 210 Freeway. Witnesses described the vehicle’s speed as "insanely fast," with one onlooker stating, “I knew something bad was going to happen if he didn’t ease off the gas.” The chase ended near the Ocean View Boulevard onramp when the suspect’s vehicle slammed into the rear of a moving dump truck. The collision mangled the car and brought the pursuit to a violent stop in the middle lanes. “It sounded lik...