Long freeway chase ends in suicide

A CHASE that began in Garden Grove Wednesday afternoon ended in San Bernardino County with the suicide of the suspect.

A 42-year-old man is dead by his own hand after leading law enforcement officers on a chase from Garden Grove to San Bernardino County Wednesday afternoon.

According to Lt. Carl Whitney of the GGPD, the incident began shortly before 4:30 p.m. when officers were sent to a business in the 12800 block of Joy Street to assist a man who said a family member who had previously stolen firearms from him was planning to return them.

Police arrived at 4:51 p.m. and the calling party told them the family member was knocking at the back door, trying to get him to come outside.  As officers approached, the suspect got into a white GMC U-Haul pickup truck and drove away.

A traffic stop at Brookhurst Street and Lampson Avenue halted the truck briefly, but the vehicle soon fled eastward on Lampson.

The chase led to the Riverside (91) Freeway in Anaheim, and was joined by an Anaheim Police Department helicopter. At the county line, California Highway Patrol officers took over the pursuit, which moved to the Interstate  15 Freeway toward Cajon Pass. About three miles before the State Route 138 Highway, CHP officers used spike strips and were able to disable the truck with flat tires. The driver stopped along the shoulder of the roadway and shot himself as officers closed in.

The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was treated at the scene and taken to Desert Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m. A semiautomatic firearm and a gun safe were found inside the truck.