A homeless man was taken into custody Tuesday for allegedly stealing a police cruiser while officers were conducting a traffic stop in Alhambra.
According to the Alhambra Police Department, Trung Cuong Nguyen approached officers from behind near Atlantic Boulevard and Glendon Way at around 12:14 a.m. Tuesday, entered the driver’s seat of their patrol vehicle, and fled the scene onto the westbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway.
A brief vehicle pursuit ensued, before Nguyen allegedly exited the vehicle near Marathon Street and Oxford Avenue in Los Angeles and began running.
“With the assistance of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Airship, and the California Highway Patrol, the driver (Nguyen) was located and arrested,” police said in a statement.
Nguyen was treated at a hospital for injuries sustained while fleeing law enforcement, authorities added.
The reason for the motorist’s initial stop by officers was unclear.