AZUSA — Authorities jailed a wanted parolee Sunday after he allegedly led police and California Highway Patrol officers on a wild car chase, then holed up inside an Azusa home for nearly two hours.
Joe Ramirez, 29, of Azusa was booked on suspicion of evading police and parole violations, West Covina police Sgt. David Lee said. Additional charges may be added later.
The incident began about 10 a.m. when West Covina police tried to pull over a car near Merced and Garvey avenues, West Covina police Lt. Ron Mitchell said.
The driver, later identified as Ramirez, led police on a high-speed pursuit that wound through Duarte before ending up in Azusa, CHP officer Rodrigo Jiminez said.
“He was driving recklessly through surface streets,” Jiminez said, blowing through stop signs and red lights, and driving the wrong way in traffic at times.
The fleeing 1996 Nissan Sentra allegedly struck at least three civilian vehicles during the chase, he added, though the collisions were minor.
About 11 a.m., Jiminez said, the driver abandoned the car on Virginia Avenue, just north of Gladstone Street, and fled on foot.
A passenger in the car, identified as Shawna Torres, 26, of La Verne, was arrested inside the car, West Covina police Sgt. David Lee said. She was booked on suspicion of evading police and a weapons charge after a handgun was found in the car.
Jiminez said Ramirez jumped over a wall and ran into a nearby house on Aspan Avenue, just north of Gladstone Street.
West Covina, Azusa and Irwindale police and CHP officers surrounded the home for nearly two hours before Ramirez came out.
When he did emerge, Lee said, he acted as if he was a by-stander and didn’t know what was going on.
Police received conflicting information from Ramirez and Torres, and there was some confusion about whether Ramirez was the driver who had led police on a chase or merely another person who happened to be in the home.
Still uncertain whether another suspect was in the home, Azusa SWAT officers took positions around the home, and a sniper was placed on a neighboring roof.
About 8 p.m., authorities fired tear gas into the home and forced their way in, Lee said. The home was empty.
“(Ramirez) looks like our main suspect,” Lee said.
Houses near the surrounded home were evacuated during the incident.
According to sheriffs’ booking records, Ramirez was being held without bail at the Azusa Police Department jail and was due for arraignment Monday in West Covina Superior Court.
Torres was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail at the West Covina Police Department jail, and was due for arraignment Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court.