Investigators used DNA evidence to identify and arrest a suspect who got away following a pursuit in the La Crescenta area during which he ran over an officer’s foot, police announced Friday.
Officials located 36-year-old Ryan Alvarez at a Lancaster home on Aug. 31—10 days after he allegedly led Glendale police on a chase in a stolen Mustang.
Officers were responding to a call about a shoplifter at a Von’s store in La Crescenta, according to the Glendale Police Department.
As police positioned themselves near the door, the suspect exited the business and entered a Mustang with paper plates, later determined to be stolen out of Burbank, detectives said.
The man fled westbound on Foothill Boulevard and rammed into a patrol vehicle, according to police. Video shows police cars surrounding the Mustang.
“I saw a white Mustang, and the police were trying to box it in,” a witness named Shawn White told KTLA that day. “Then they got it boxed in, and they drew their weapons and came out, and the guy wouldn’t stop. He just kept spinning tires, turning the steering wheel, trying to get free.”
At some point, he drove over an officer’s foot, the Police Department said.
The man eventually went into a parking lot west of Boston Avenue, left the Mustang and ran away, the agency added.
Officers failed to find the suspect during the search, which prompted a lockdown at a nearby elementary school. Authorities also urged residents to lock their doors and call 911 if they see the suspect.
Detectives said they collected evidence left at the crime scene and used DNA and other resources to later identify the perpetrator. They arrested him without incident in the 5300 block of West Avenue LF in Lancaster, according to police.
“Alvarez has an extensive criminal history and has served time for gross vehicular manslaughter. At the time of his arrest, he was on Post Release Community Supervision,” Glendale police said in a statement.
According to the agency, Alvarez faced three counts of assault with a deadly weapon against police officers, as well as one count each of driving or taking a vehicle without consent, receiving stolen property, petty theft and driving with license suspended or revoked due to DUI conviction with prior offense.
The case remained under investigation.