A suspect led sheriff’s deputies on an erratic chase in a stolen U-Haul truck Tuesday then barricaded himself in a Santa Ana sober- living facility where his girlfriend has been staying.

The chase started in San Clemente when the suspect, who was on a motorcycle, refused to comply with a deputy’s attempted traffic stop, according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect got off the motorcycle and stole a U-Haul truck, Braun said.

The suspect led a pursuit onto the Santa Ana (5) Freeway to the Newport Beach (73) and then the Costa Mesa (55) freeways, Braun said.

The suspect crashed into two cars in Santa Ana, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

The suspect got out of the moving truck less than a block from a sober- living facility in the 1800 block of West Saint Anne Place and ran inside, Braun said. Investigators believe the suspect’s girlfriend was staying there, she said.

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Everyone in the sober-living facility got out, leaving the suspect in there alone as SWAT negotiators attempted to convince him to surrender, Braun said.

The suspect’s driving was “so erratic” during the chase that his pursuers terminated the pursuit, with a sheriff’s helicopter crew continuing to track the suspect, Braun said.

–City News Service

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