A 56-year-old man with past felony convictions pleaded not guilty Friday to carjacking a Huntington Beach police car and leading officers on a chase.
Lilton Bernardt Dooley was charged Thursday with one count of carjacking, five counts of assault with a weapon on a peace officer, one count of leading police on a chase and one count of resisting arrest, all felonies. He is next due in court for a pretrial hearing Feb. 3 in the West Justice Center in Westminster.
Dooley was pulled over for a traffic violation about 11:30 p.m. Monday and was arrested, according to Jennifer Carey, a spokeswoman for the city. Dooley “claimed to be having a medical emergency,” so officers took him to a hospital and while he was getting checked in, he ran off, Carey said.
During the pursuit, Dooley jumped into one of the department’s patrol cars and led officers on a chase to Lakewood, where he got out and barricaded himself in a neighborhood, Carey said. Eventually, Dooley surrendered without incident, she added.
Dooley has a prior conviction for attempted robbery on Dec. 2, 1992, in Los Angeles County, and a conviction for criminal threats May 14, 2014, also in Los Angeles County, according to court records.
Dooley is also facing vandalism and grand theft charges for allegedly smashing in a window of a Ram pickup truck in Irvine on July 29, according to court records. He is also charged with car theft with a prior conviction for car theft on May 30, according to court records.