Whittier police jail flightly car theft suspect

WHITTIER -- A flighty car theft suspect evaded police three times Thursday before ultimately being taken into custody, officials said.
Coolie Li, a 28-year-old transient known to frequent the Reseda area, was booked on suspicion of auto theft, Whittier police Officer Mike Dekowski.
An officer spotted a stolen car driving in the 12500 block of East Whittier Boulevard, near Five Points, and tried to pull it over, the officer said.
The driver, later identified as Li, fled from the car on foot and got away from the officer, Dekowski said.
Li was spotted on foot in the area and police set up a search perimeter, he said, but called off the search empty-handed.
Police received another call just before 10 p.m. reporting a "suspicious person," who matched the description of the car thief, in the 6000 block of Greenleaf Avenue, Dekowski said.
"Once the officer arrived on scene, he fled again and was able to get away," he said.
Another call came in about 10:40 p.m. reporting a person of the same description hiding in a back yard in the 6000 block of Bright Avenue, police said.
While searching the area, Dekowski said, officers found Li hiding in the back of an SUV parked at a home in the 5800 block of Bright Avenue and arrested him.
According to sheriff's booking records, Li was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail at the Whittier Police Department's jail.